A Friend Indeed
by OmegusXIII
Summary: Jessica Bailey was your average girl from New York City who just moved to San Francisco to make friends. But when she meets three certain bears, she's bound to get more than she bargained for.
1. Our Stuff

**Chapter 1: "Our Stuff"**

It started with an aspiring young girl named Jessica Bailey. She is at an age of 19, with long brown hair (a lock of it goes in front of her face), a green sleeved shirt, and black shorts. She was using her phone typing up an entry for her diary.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Today is my first day at San Francisco. We've managed to unpack everything we have in a day, only to sleep afterwards. I'm going to make all that work worthwhile by trying to make some new friends this weekend. My Mom said I can try until curfew for all she cares, as long as I don't end up on the news. People usually end up on the news for bad things in her experience, so that would scare my mom to death if I got on it at all. But people get on the news for good stuff too, liking saving a kid across the street. At least I tried to tell her, but she doesn't believe that. But that's for another time. Today, my new life begins._

That was when she bumped into a furry shape and fell to the floor. Fortunately, her phone didn't crack. The shape responded to her. "Ah! Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry!" As Jessica tried to reach for her phone, she was interacting with the shape. "Oh, no, it's okay. I just wasn't watching where I was going." Then, she heard a new and monotonous voice. "Ice Bear thinks it's his fault." Jessica grabbed onto her phone and pulled it to her face. "Really? Well, you can tell Ice Bear that it wasn't..." Suddenly, she saw on her phone's reflective surface three bears, specifically a Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear, and a Polar Bear in a stack of that order with blue headbands on their heads and a yellow backpack on the top bear. "...his ...fault?" For a while, Jessica was standing still as if she was having a Eureka moment. The Grizzly Bear tried to snap her out of it. "Hey, uh, are you okay?" Suddenly, Jessica squealed with excitement at the three bears. "I can't believe it! I thought I'd have to go to the forest, China, or Alaska, but the three great bears of my life are standing in front of my eyes in a stack!" The Grizzly Bear was confused, but he figured it means one thing. "So you think we're cool?" "Heck, yeah!" The bears started whooping in victory until Jessica cleared her throat. Then, she introduced herself. "My name is Jessica Bailey. I just moved in here." Then, the bears introduced themselves next. "My name is Grizz. Always available to be a friend." "Uh, h-hi. My name is Panda. But you can call me Pan-Pan." Panda abruptly stopped talking after he said that, leaving Jessica with a few giggles. "Sure thing." "Ice Bear's name is Ice Bear." Jessica got confused about the way he speaks. "Uh, don't you mean your name is Ice Bear?" "That's what Ice Bear said." Grizz explained the concept to Jessica. "Oh, don't worry. Our little bro usually talks like that." "Huh. So what are you guys doing today? Working out?" Grizz was more than happy to invite her. "You might say that. We're gonna go shoot some hoops. Want to come over?" "Sure! I was a basketball champion where I came from." Grizz felt inclined to ask. "And where's that?" "New York." Panda was surprised to hear that and wanted to know something else. "You're not one of those mean kids, are you? 'Cause New York is full of them." "Relax, Pan-Pan. I'm not that sort of girl." Panda felt relieved. "Phew." "Ice Bear would like to see you shoot hoops." "Well then, challenge accepted!" With that, Jessica gladly went along with the bears to the court.

At the court, the bears and Jessica, who was listening to her MP3 Player, were waiting for their turn next to the spectating crowd. "We got next." When it came time for their turn, Grizz opened the backpack to put their belongings in. Grizz put in his item first, then Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear were to follow in that order. "One velcro wallet. One Cellie." "Be careful with this please. It is my life and soul in rectangular form." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Grizz put the phone in the backpack. "And one MP3 Player from me." Jessica put her MP3 Player in the backpack, just before Ice Bear got his shurikens out. "Ice Bear has ninja stars." Jessica found it odd. "Uh, where did you get these?" "Ice Bear would rather not say." He then tossed them into the backpack. Grizz prepared to toss the backpack as Jessica got on the bleachers. "Grizz for three!" Jessica caught the backpack and set it on the bleachers. "Interception!" The bears looked confused at Jessica. "What's up? Do we not say that in Basketball?" "Yeah. It's just that it was really impressive wordplay." "Oh. Thanks." With that, Jessica started her countdown on the phone at approximately 40 minutes. Grizz prepped the team up with a team shout of sorts. "1, 2, 3..." Then Jessica and the rest of the bears joined in. "Game time! Huh!" At first, Grizz was having trouble getting around one player who was blocking him, but saw an opportunity to take a shot. As such, he took the opportunity. "Buckets!" However, he was not as successful as the ball hit the rim of the backboard. But Jessica leaped for the ball, grabbed it, and slammed it in the hoop. "2 points!" Grizz and the others were impressed. "Wow! Not bad, Jessica! Let's keep it up!" Grizz tried to make a shot, only for it to be intercepted by one player. In another scenario, Grizz was forced to move upwards upon being blocked passage to Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear. He then tossed the basketball, but he didn't take into account his strength, so he ended up tossing it over the court and bombarding a faraway car. Next, Panda was trying to get enough space to get the ball without interception when he noticed Jessica closing in. "I'm open!" Jessica prepared to shoot the ball to Panda, but he's afraid of the speed it'd go. "Wait, wait! Not too fast!" By the time she heard it, it was too late. The ball ended up hitting Panda in the side. Jessica gasped and ran toward Panda. "Time out! Time out!" Jessica lifted Panda up as he did a time out sign with his paws. "You'll be fine, Panda. I've had worse than this before." "You have?" "Yep. Come on! Let's step it up!" With Ice Bear, he was over-dribbling the ball until it was on his paw, letting the kid snatch it away with a swipe. When he tried to make the shot, Jessica intercepted and made a long shot of 3 points. Later on, Grizz was on defense. "I got this!" He started acting like a bear as he tried to block him, only for him to make the shot, allowing the other player to leap and take the ball doing a backhand slam dunk. Panda felt embarrassed. "My bad." Jessica cheered Panda on. "Don't worry, Panda. The game's not over yet." Grizz tried another attempt at defense, only for him to go around and take the shot successfully. "Wow. Nice shot, man." Grizz tried to high-five him, but he just walked away briskly. Jessica let them in on a tip. "About that, Grizz, we usually congratulate people after the game." "Huh." They tried a three bear stack near the hoop, but instead it hit the hoop and went far away. Grizz tried to stop the other player from going, but when he made a run for it, he tripped and fell to the floor. Panda tripped next as he ran over Grizz. Meanwhile, Jessica successfully snatched the ball from him and made another 3 point shot. "Swish!" Next, when someone tossed the ball out of bounds, the player called out. "No bounce!" However, Grizz didn't take that to heart and just dove toward the trash can. "I got it!" He ended up smashing into the can, making Jessica giggle a little. "That's one way to show initiative." Grizz tried to find a way around him, but was having difficulty. "Pick and roll! Pick and roll!" Suddenly, Ice Bear leaned on him, slid down, and then rolled away. Then, Grizz, Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear each made their own shots. Grizz's attempt was less than perfect. "It's gone!" Panda wasn't as lucky. "Sorry!" Jessica made the shot herself successfully. "3 points!" Ice Bear shot the ball and stuck it in the hoop. "Ice Bear meant to do that." One guy had the ball and leaped in front of Panda and Grizz by putting his hand on Grizz's head as he took the shot. Jessica knew the rules of Basketball enough to know what it was. "Foul!" It all came down to this. However many points they've scored, they needed at least two more to win before Jessica's alarm can go off with only 10 seconds to go. The other player shot the ball at the hoop, but got knocked off course, allowing Ice Bear to take it. Jessica let Ice Bear know that he was open. "Outlet! Outlet!" Ice Bear tossed it to Jessica, who tossed it to Grizz. "Come base slide, back door, square offense." Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear positioned themselves in a square shape along with Grizz. "Play seven!" Grizz tossed the ball to Ice Bear, who then tossed it to Jessica. "Incoming!" Jessica then tossed the ball to Panda, who got hit in the arm, straight toward the hoop. It landed on the hoop and danced around it as everyone watched with baited breath. Finally, it slid down into the hoop, just as the timer went off with a basketball buzzer sound, giving Jessica and the bears a one-point lead. "Yay!" "Whoo-hoo!" "Yes. Yes. Uh-huh. Yeah." Grizz and the others decided to celebrate while Jessica congratulated the other players. "You guys were really tough. I'm glad we got the chance to play together." "Yeah. Me too." "Where did you learn those moves?" "I learned them in New York. Today's my first day here actually." "Well, good for you." Jessica noticed the bears carrying Panda above their heads and going out of the court. "See you later this week, guys?" "Sure, no problem." Jessica ran towards the bears and saw them dunking Panda in the statue fountain with what appears to be the statue of the town founder. Panda didn't move for a while until he burst from the water with excitement. "Game time! Huh!" Jessica smiled at Panda's enthusiasm. "Now that was fun." "I know, right?" "For a while, it looked like you didn't know how to play." Grizz made a contradicting statement. "Pfft. Of course we know how to play. Good job, everyone. I'm proud of you, I saw improvement, and I saw heart. And you can't teach heart." "No, you cannot." Grizz realized that he's forgetting something important. "Wait a sec. Did we forget something?" Jessica realized it the same time Ice Bear had. "The backpack." "The backpack!" "The backpack! My wallet!" "My MP3 Player!" "Ice Bear ninja stars." Panda chuckled at their panic, thinking they were joking. "I thought for a second that you said we left our stuff back at the court, because my phone is in there, and if I lost that, I would totally freak out." Jessica tried to gently break the news to Panda. "Uh, Panda, about that..." Grizz interrupted and broke the news for her. "We left your phone." As expected, Panda flailed about in a panic. Jessica grabbed Panda's arms and set them on his sides. "Relax, Panda. There's no need to panic. We just have to go back to the court and get it." However, when they got to the court, Jessica and the others noticed that the backpack wasn't there anymore. "Oh, it's gone. Somebody jacked us!" "Okay, now you can panic." "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, nooooooooo!" As Panda yelled out, he sent a swarm of pigeons away from the court.

In a panic, the Bears dragged Jessica along with them to a policewoman who was writing the ticket. "Police! Police! Police!" The policewoman initially thought that they were stopping her from writing a ticket to their car. "Whoa. Sorry, guys. I'm already writing this ticket." "No, no! We were robbed! The guy had a knife, a-and one eye!" Jessica was confused about they way they were presenting their case. "What? We don't even know who robbed us, guys!" Panda and Ice Bear went on with his statement in panic. "They stole my phone! My apps! My soul!" "Ice Bear wants justice." "Arrest somebody! Use your gun! Wait, where's your gun?" "Guys, this is not that kind of policewoman. She's a Meter Maid." The Bears seemed lost on the concept of the police. "What's a Meter Maid?" The policewoman finished up her ticket and set it on the car. Afterwards, she drove off. Jessica felt that she needed to know something. "That wasn't our car! But good job!" Panda started to accept defeat. "My phone is gone forever." Panda took off his headband and wrapped it in his right arm. "I will wear this in remembrance." Jessica started to feel sorry for Panda and gave him a hug. "I'm really sorry, Panda. I just don't know what to tell you." In spite of his predicament, Panda smiled a little bit from Jessica's comfort, while Ice Bear reverently set his head on the parking meter. But Grizz wasn't willing to give up so easily. "Guys, keep it together. I have an idea. We're going to take Justice into our own hands." Jessica felt alarmed by that, as that is the leading cause of ending up on the news. "W-Wouldn't that be Vigilantism? Because I'm not allowed to be on the news." "Be that as it may, we're no closer to getting our stuff back than square one. And if we have to resort to vigilantism, so be it." With that, Grizz took the parking ticket and wrote the words 'F.B.I.' on it and drew a red circle around it. "Perfect! Taxi!" Just as the Taxi cab pulled up, Jessica grew unsure about his methods. "Uh, that's not how a real badge looks." "We'll just have to make due." At that point, Grizz shoved Jessica in it as Panda and Ice Bear slide in. "F.B.I. We're on a very important case. Take us everywhere a criminal would hang out, now!" Jessica tried to speak up, only for Panda and Ice Bear to cut her off. "Oh, but can we go to the bathroom first?" "Ice Bear needs Latte." Jessica was finally free to speak for herself when Ice Bear had finished stating his demand. "First off, it doesn't work that way. Second, he's a cab driver, not a chauffeur. We're sorry about that, sir. We'll just get out of your hair." With that, Jessica shoved the bears back out of the cab as the driver watched. After they were booted out, Grizz was starting to be aware of the difficulty the challenge poses. "This is gonna be tougher than I thought." Jessica slapped herself on the forehead. "This isn't turning out to be a good first day." Just then, her stomach growled. During the whole escapade, it never occurred to her that she'd forgotten to pack a lunch. "Oh, great. Now I'm hungry." Panda noticed a nearby restaurant and put her at ease. "Look, a diner." Jessica took notice of that and smiled. "Huh. What do you know?"

At the diner, Jessica was having a Grilled Cheese Sandwich with soda while Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear only had ice waters. Grizz had made an artistic depiction of the court, the basketball, and the players with syrup packets, straws, a crumpled-up wrapper and a table mat with an exact drawing of the court. Grizz set down the pepper and salt containers as himself, the bears, and Jessica. "Okay. So if I was here, and you guys were here, here, and here, that would mean somebody took the bag where?" "Ice Bear has a conspiracy theory." Jessica noticed Panda drawing on the table mats and grew interested. "So, what are you drawing?" "I'm drawing mug shots." Jessica immediately grew offended, but then realized there are some suspects worth looking at. After all, some of them were edgy. "Never mind. So, how are they coming along?" "It's a good thing I've got a photographic memory. Here's what I got so far." With that, Panda pulled up numerous manga drawings of the other players. Jessica was impressed to say the least. "Wow! Those drawings are so cool, Pan! I was a bit of a drawer myself." "Really? Thanks!" Grizz, however, was lost to the concept of manga art. "Hmm, they kinda look similar." Jessica got in defense for Panda's art. "Are you kidding me? They're so rendered." Just then, the waitress's voice got their attention. "So, I just talked to the manager, and he said if you guys want to sit here, you'll have to order more than three ice waters." "Well, maybe you wouldn't say that if we were F.B.I., lady! We're doing official business! Step away from the table!" Jessica growled at Grizz, who backed off. After which, she spoke to the waitress. "Okay, we understand. Ice Bear, didn't you say you wanted a Latte?" "Ice Bear would like a Latte." "Sorry. We don't have a Latte. The closest we've got is Coffee." Ice Bear tensed at that. "Ice Bear doesn't do caffeine." The waitress grew annoyed and left in a huff, but not before she scolded Panda. "And stop wasting table mats!" Jessica offered a valid point. "No, Panda, she's right. As cool as your art is, it was a bit wasteful." "We're losing time. Gotta think. Need a clue. Maybe someone who was at the scene of the crime?" Jessica didn't find it helpful. "The only people who were at the crime scene are back home by now Grizz. And even then, you can't expect pigeons to..." Suddenly, Grizz slammed on the table and got an idea. "Aha! I know just where to go." Jessica and the others noticed that Ice Bear had finished his ice waster and wanted another. Grizz called out to the waitress. "More ice water, please!" Jessica immediately pulled Grizz's hand down. "We've actually had enough for now, guys."

At the park, Grizz and the others got to the park where he was asking the pigeons a question. "Yes! It's a yellow backpack. Any of you birds know anything? I got sugar packets." As expected, none of the pigeons responded. "Ugh! It's almost like they don't understand me." "That's because they don't. I told you, you can't expect pigeons to help you. You'd have to be some sort of Pigeon Whisperer, and come on, what are the odds of that?" Suddenly, Ice Bear walked up and started dancing around while doing bird noises. "Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, squawk, squeak, squeak, tweet, squawk. Tweet, tweet, tweet. Chirp, chirp, chirp. Squawk, squawk." Suddenly, the whole group of pigeons turned to Ice Bear. Grizz and Jessica were surprised. "Oh! Hey, look at that!" "Apparently, very high." "Idea! Excuse me." Grizz snatched Panda's art. "Careful! It's art." As Ice Bear continued communicating, Grizz laid out the drawings. "Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, squawk, squeak, squeak, tweet, squawk. Meow. Tweet, squawk, tweet, squawk, squawk." After laying down the art, Grizz turned to the pigeons once more. "Okay. Do any of you birds know which guy here took our stuff?" Suddenly, one pigeon stick his head out. Grizz saw that and called him up. "Whoa! Hey there, little guy. Come on down." The pigeon got his head down and sidestepped to reveal his position. Jessica found it suspicious. "How did you do that?" Grizz was more focused on the task at hand. "Okay, take your time and look carefully. Who was it?" For a while, the pigeon danced around the pictures, looking carefully at each one, until he tapped on the culprit's picture. "Aha! Here's our guy, fellas. Number 41. Evilest number of them all." Jessica was confused. "I don't get it. What would he have to gain from stealing our stuff?" With knowledge of the culprit at hand, Panda became more desperate than ever to reclaim his phone. "Tell us where this criminal is, pigeon! You tell us right now!" Jessica stopped Panda from going more ballistic than he already has. "Whoa, Pan-Pan, relax. He may have taken your guys' stuff, but not your dignity." With Jessica, Panda felt more patient, and as such, he obliged. "Okay." Suddenly, the pigeon took off. The Bears grew worried and tried to run after it. "Hold on! W-We'll follow you!" Jessica immediately ran after them to prevent any further chaos. "Guys, wait! At least look where you're going!" Jessica jumped onto Grizz and went along with the desperate trio.

In the city, as they were running past the crowd, Jessica saw the guy with a hot dog cart in front of them and steered away from it and back into the path as they followed the pigeon. At the park, Jessica shouted to the couple laying on the blanket. "Out of the way, guys!" Thanks to her warning, they were able to avoid getting pummeled. At the streets of San Francisco, they passed a nearby train headed downward. Suddenly, they found themselves at a Baseball game, where they distracted the swinger from taking the shot, as the crowd shouted. Next, they went inside a house near a beach, oblivious to the people living in the house who were confused. Next, they went on the pier at the ocean where they fish. Jessica saw a fisherman with a boy and shouted to them. "Guys! Back up!" With her warning, they backed up safely to avoid falling to the ocean. Suddenly, they found themselves back at the streets of San Francisco. This part of the streets in particular had a guy with a long beard selling tie-dye shirts. Jessica knew there wouldn't be enough time to shout for him to move away. So, she took charge of the stack and steered them away from the stand, but not without snatching a tie-dye shirt and dropping off the money needed to pay for it. The owner was dumbfounded. "What?"

Eventually, they made it to the library. Grizz was confused. "The library? Why would the pigeon take us here?" In a different circumstance, Panda would snap like a twig, but with Jessica, he just couldn't do it. So he had to think of a good reason. "Maybe he reads there?" Jessica then remembered how books were able to be scanned, and had a Eureka moment. "Of course. The library has internet there right, Pan?" "Yeah, so?" Panda then got the gist of what Jessica was talking about. "Phone finder! I'll track where my phone is." "Yep." "Oh, who's a little genius birdy? High-five, friend." Panda tried to high-five the pigeon, only for it to skip away from Panda. "Hmm. Maybe he's tired."

At the library, Grizz was about to kick the door open, when Jessica stopped him. "The library is a quiet place. The last thing they need is noise." With that, Jessica reverently opened the door and walked in with Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear following. At the computer, Panda searched the web for the phone tracker. After typing the phone password, Panda printed the location of his phone. However, the printer was having difficulty, as it had a paper jam, a problem Grizz fixed by smoothing it out. After a brief problem check, the paper was successfully printed. "Okay, let's go."

Near the location of their pilfered goods, Grizz, Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear slowly stepped forward from the shadows. "Well, this is the place." Grizz folded the paper into a telescope and passed it to Jessica. "Okay, what do you see?" The first thing Jessica saw was a girl arguing with her father. The next, she saw a white cat meowing at her. Finally, she saw the same culprit that had a number 41 shirt. "It's him!" Panda wanted to know something. "Where? Do you see our stuff?" "Yep. I saw the backpack." Grizz knew it was more than enough reason to take action. "Oh, he has our stuff alright. Let's move!" Jessica stopped them again. "Wait! We can't just barge in, no matter how much we want our stuff back." "But he has our stuff! We've gotta get it back!" "I know, but it could've been a mistake. He must've thought that backpack was his. I know. He had the same yellow backpack as us." However, Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear were already gone. "Guys? Ugh! Fantastic." While Jessica stuck to her more practical strategy, the bears climbed up on the ladder beneath the door, working their way up. Jessica knocked on the door and the door was opened by a landlord of this apartment. "Yes?" Jessica tried to speak, containing her nervousness. "Hi. Can you, uh, show me the room of Number 41? We met earlier today." The landlord nodded and let her in. Meanwhile, the bears continued to climb on the stairs, unaware of the old lady watching them and calling 911. "911, what's your emergency?"

At the room of Number 41, he was watching a basketball game. "Right out Jones, he bounced the ball, shuck at 18..." At this point, Grizz saw the prize in sight and went forward only to be stopped by Panda. "Wait, Grizz. What's the plan?" "Well, I'm gonna go in there and get our stuff back." "What if he's, I don't know, crazy? What if he works out? He could hurt our faces and stuff." Ice Bear was quickly running out of patience. "Ice Bear wants to get moving." "Okay, okay, okay. We'll go in ninja style. Cool?" Just as Panda and Ice Bear nodded, they heard a knock on the door. Number 41 went to get the door, and when he opened it, he found Jessica at the door. "Hi." Number 41 smiled and shook her hand. "Hey, you're the expert Basketball Champion. From New York, right?" "Yeah. The thing is, I-" "Oh, you should see the game that's going on right now." Number 41 dragged her into his room and watched the game with her. Grizz saw Jessica with Number 41 and changed plans. "Alright, new plan. We'll let Jessica take the wheel from here." As they watched, the game continued. "And here they come down the stretch..." Jessica tried to get to know him first before they can confirm the verdict. "So, what's your name?" "My name's Keith." Jessica got her hand out to Keith for a friendly handshake. "My name's Jessica. Nice to meet you." After the handshake, Keith wanted to know why she came here. "So, what brings you here?" Upon seeing Jessica with the culprit, for whatever reason, Panda started to growl. "Well, actually, we actually had the same yellow backpack, with different contents, right? So, after our game, we noticed our backpack was gone. And, well, I figured you must've taken it by mistake." "Well, unless you've got an Action Buddies movie in it, I don't have your backpack." Jessica thought that he was dodging the question and brought up a different one. "Oh, well can I see it?" "Sure. I rented it an hour ago." Keith opened up his backpack and got out an Action Buddies movie, proving his innocence. Grizz and the others got surprised, while Jessica kept her cool just. "Huh. That's cool. I like Action Buddies too." "Really? Oh, wait here comes a good one." Keith and Jessica payed close attention to the game to not miss a moment. "They give the defense a rebound. Oh, look here. Jerry's using the tank. And what a slam! Oh ho!" Keith and Jessica cheered at the maneuver. "Yeah!" "Whoo! Way to go!" Jessica then tried to apologize to Keith. "Listen, I'm sorry to have wasted your time." "No, that's cool. I just wish I could help. Besides, it was cool getting to know you." "Yeah. Same here." Panda growled even more as Ice Bear tried to hold him back while keeping his mouth closed. "So, want to watch it with me?" "Not today. I have to be back before curfew. Maybe sometime next week?" "Maybe, if I can have your number." Jessica felt it to be abit sudden, but it also was the best way to get to know people in San Francisco. After all, she did have permission to make friends. "Yeah, sure." Mentally, Panda exploded. 'WHAT?!' Just as he was about to charge in like a bull, a spotlight flashed on him and the rest of the bears, catching Keith and Jessica's attention. A cop spoke on the microphone. "This is the police! We have you surrounded! Give up now!" Jessica face slapped herself. "Why don't the guys ever listen to me?" "You know these guys?" "Unfortunately." Grizz tried to explain. "This is all a big mistake! We were just trying to get our stuff back!" Jessica thought that what had happened between her and Keith was unknown to them. "It was unnecessary guys! That wasn't our backpack! It just looked like ours!" At this point, Grizz realized his mistake and tried to explain further. "Uh, so, it was a mistake. Not our stuff. No harm, no foul, right?" The crowd begged to differ. "Those guys have been running around the city destroying stuff, and that poor girl was stopping it from happening!" "She stopped them from ruining my T-Shirt stand!" "Those guys came into my restaurant and ordered only Ice Waters!" Grizz felt it to be invalid. "Hey, we tipped!" "No, your friend did! You just left me a table mat drawing!" It all made sense to them now. If they had listened to Jessica's courteous advice, they wouldn't have been in this predicament. But they chose not to. Worst of all, they dragged her into something she never wanted to be a part of: Vigilantism. They hung their heads down as shame swept over them. "Jump now! We will catch you and then put you in jail! Do the right thing!" Panda whimpered shedding a tear, catching Jessica's concern. Ice Bear noticed a pigeon by his foot and stomped near him, scaring him off. Jessica was still confused about their events. "I don't understand. How did things get this far? This doesn't make any sense. Unless..." Jessica payed close attention the pigeon flying away, until it entered a building adjacent to them. "Of course! Keith, come with me." Keith, confused as he was, went along with Jessica. "Okay."

Meanwhile, the bears accepted their fate as Grizz prepared a huddle for his brothers. "Okay, brothers, group huddle. I'm not gonna lie, it's not looking good. It looks like the real criminal might've been us, and the real victim was Jessica. We dragged her into this mess, and now we must face the consequences." Panda grew sad at the thought of letting Jessica down and getting her into trouble when he noticed Jessica running away from the building with Keith. "No!" Far away, Jessica saw Panda's worry and felt concerned. "Hang in there, Pan." Keith was still confused about their goal. "So, what are we doing?" Jessica and Keith ran into the abandoned building as she answered him. "When we're done, it'll all make sense." The cop called out to them again. "Please jump one at a time! Slowly!" Grizz had a different plan. "Hey guys, if we go down, we do it together." Panda and Ice Bear hugged Grizz just as the cop shouted to them again. "I repeat, do not jump all at once! Do not-" However, they never listened. "One two, three, game time! Huh!" "Do not- Oh, they all jumped." As the people grew very concerned whilst taking a photo of them, the bears bounced high on the trampoline and crashed through the window of the building Jessica and Keith went in, earning stunned gasps from the crowd.

At the building, when they saw a door labeled "Pigeon Storeroom" and burst into it, only to find a swarm of pigeons and Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear lying on the floor with broken glass around them. Jessica assumed the worst and ran toward them. "No! Guys, wake up! Please!" With a stir, the bears woke up and noticed Jessica and Keith. After helping them up, Jessica hugged Panda tightly. "Oh! Thank gosh, you're okay!" Keith was more worried about the crowd surrounding them. "Uh, Jessica?" Jessica and the others became fixated on the surrounding crowd of pigeons with T.V. screens, phones, and assorted electronics. Grizz got out his "badge" and tried to scare them straight. "F.B.I.!"

Soon afterward, every single Pigeon in the building was arrested. Grizz, Panda, Ice Bear, Jessica, and Keith were in blankets as the officer presented their yellow backpack. "Is this your bag?" After a mix-up, Jessica wasn't so sure. "I don't know, officer." Keith looked at it closely, saw no initials on it and confirmed it. "Why, yes it is." The bears and Jessica grew happy. Panda got into the backpack and got his prize. "My phone!" Jessica got into the backpack and got her prized possession. "My MP3 Player!" Grizz got into the backpack and got his out as well. "My wallet!" Finally, Ice Bear retrieved his shurikens. Keith was confused. "Where did you get those?" "Ice Bear bought these legally." Jessica was confused. "Wait. How come you never told me that?" "Ice Bear wanted to be cool for Jessica." Jessica grew flattered. "Aw. Thanks. But you guys already do that just by being you. You didn't need to change a thing." After that whole fiasco, Panda was surprised to hear that. "You're serious?" "of course." The cop spoke to them after retrieving their stolen items. "You guys sure did us a huge favor stumbling upon those criminals. Pigeon Cartel is one of the most elusive of criminal gangs." Jessica heard of usual typical crime, so Pigeon Cartel was entirely new to her. "Pigeon Cartel? How come I've never heard of it? Oh. That's just how elusive they are. I get it." "So the pigeon in the park really was misleading us." Just as Grizz finished his accusation, a pigeon landed on the cop. "Oh, you mean this guy? He's actually been working undercover for us. Wears a wire and everything. Ain't that the cutest thing?" Jessica was still confused about the end result. "So, what's the verdict?" "Nobody's pressing charges, thanks to your efforts, young lady, but don't ever do that again." With that, the cop tore up the "badge" Grizz made. "Thanks again. Good night." Jessica looked at her watch and knew she needed to get back home. "Wait! Can we get a police escort back home? I'm supposed to be back home before curfew." The cop turned back to her and smiled. "Well, sure. It's the least we can do."

With that, Jessica and the bears got into the car in the back and were driven to Jessica's home. The address was 743 Andreas Court. Jessica turned to the bears. "Can you guys stay with me? I'll need some help explaining everything to Mom." "Of course. It's the least we could do." "We dragged you into something you never wanted to be in. It's only fair." "Ice Bear will support you." Jessica smiled at them and hugged them tightly. "Thanks, you guys." After a brief hug, they walked toward the door and felt nervous. Then she took a deep breath, opened the door, and prepared for the worst. When she opened the door, she noticed her mother, Patricia, a woman about the same height as her, but she had dark brown hair in the same style as her daughter's hair, black glasses, wrinkles between her nose and mouth to indicate her age, a light violet shirt, and a purple skirt, with a surprised look on her face. "Uh, Mom?" Patricia took off her surprise face and hugged her daughter. "Thank heavens, you're safe!" Jessica was still cautious and casually asked her something. "So, you're not angry at me?" "Oh, no." The bears sighed in relief while Jessica was still waiting for the worst. "Wait for it." "Angry doesn't BEGIN TO COVER IT!" The bears stumbled back in shock. Jessica, however, was expecting that. "And there it is." "Unbelievable! I told you not to go on the news, and what do you do?!" Grizz defended Jessica. "Wait, ma'am. None of this was her fault! It was ours." That, however, only added to her anger. "You! You're the reason my daughter ended up as a hoodlum on TV!" It was then that Panda not only defended Jessica, but directly stood up to her. "She's not a hoodlum! She's a hero! She helped the police arrest a Pigeon Cartel!" Jessica was stunned by Panda's outburst of protection. "Panda." Patricia still didn't budge. "You're obviously lying." Panda still never lost his composure. "If you don't believe me, look for yourself." Patricia looked at the news and saw the police arresting the load of pigeons. "In a surprise twist, the Pigeon Cartel was found in the process, thanks to the efforts of a 19-year-old girl who had snuck into their hideout to prove their innocence." Both Patricia and Panda were surprised for different reasons. Panda was surprised that she'd never given up on them and her mother for what she'd done to help the police. "Jessica." "You did all this?" "I had to. They're my friends. I'd do anything for them. Well, almost anything. And they'd do the same for me." Patricia looked at the three bears who nodded at her. Unexpectedly, Patricia hugged the bears all at once. "Thank you so much for looking out for my daughter." "No sweat, Ms. Bailey. We were just looking out for each other." Patricia then turned to her daughter. "Jessica, I'm very proud of you." Jessica grew surprised and hopeful. "Wait. Are you really proud?" "Of course, but you should've at least called or texted me. I've been worried sick all day." Jessica rubbed her head in embarrassment. "Sorry, Mom. In all the excitement, I guess I forgot."

After a lengthy conversation, the bears went outside the house. "It was great to hang out with you, Patricia!" "Ice Bear will live up to standard expectations." Panda was the last one to leave before Jessica stopped him. "Panda, wait." "Yeah?" Suddenly, Jessica hugged Panda tightly. "Thank you, for being such good friends." Panda blushed madly just as Jessica did. "Aw. It was nothing. You would've done the same. After all, what are friends for?" Panda and Jessica smiled at each other. "Oh! This is our home, in case you want to hang out with us." Panda handed Jessica a photo of their cave before he went into the car. The police car then drove away from the house as Jessica looked at the cave with the three bears in front of it.

In her bedroom, decorated with brown walls, a poster of the albino alligator at the zoo, a laptop, and a panda stuffed animal, Jessica was writing her diary on her phone.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _My first day started out as crazy. But, as it went along, everything resolved itself. One minute I was shooting hoops in the court, and the next I helped arrest a Pigeon Cartel. You're wondering, "how did that happen?" Well, it started the way it ended; the Three Bare Bears who, while they had a lot to learn, have had great roles in my life, and who'll always be my best friends._


	2. Viral Video

**Chapter 2: "Viral Video"**

It started the next morning after her first misadventure with the Bears. The alarm clock rang at 7:00 a.m. Before it could beep for the fifth time, Jessica stopped it and instantly got out of bed. Once she did, she put on her daily clothes (this time, a green short-sleeved shirt with black shorts). When she got downstairs, she was met by a smiling Patricia, who had happened to make pancakes with syrup and a cup of milk. "Morning, Mom." Patricia could tell she was eager as she devoured her pancakes. "Well, someone's up early." "Can you blame me? The day I had yesterday was so..." Jessica instantly drank her cup of milk until it was empty. "...amazing!" Patricia could make an easy guess as to why. "It's because you met the three bears from yesterday, isn't it?" Jessica replied as she wiped the napkin across her face. "Yep." "And you're going to hang out with them today, aren't you?" Jessica replied once again, as she finished her last bite. "Yep." Patricia sighed in defeat. "Oh, well. I guess it can't be helped." Then, just as Jessica was taking off, Patricia called her back. "Up-up-up! If you want to hang out with them, at least put your dishes away first." Jessica face-palmed herself in embarrassment. "Oops. I forgot." After putting the dishes away, Jessica hugged her mother and ran out the door. "See you later, Mom!" As she ran towards the forest area, Patricia called out to her. "Make sure you call me if anything happens!" Jessica replied back, although the echo was faint. "Sure thing, Mom!" Patricia smiled before she closed the door.

At the forest area, Jessica found the cave that was exactly like the photo Panda gave her. "Well, I guess this is it." When Jessica opened the door, she found Panda at the table and Ice Bear preparing an exotic meal. "Hey, guys." Panda and Ice Bear each turned to see Jessica. Panda stammered while Ice Bear greeted her in Korean. "J-Jessica?!" "Anyonghaseyo." Jessica greeted Ice Bear. "Anyonghaseyo." Panda was curious about her presence. "W-what are you doing here?" "Well, I wanted to hang out with you guys, so I looked in the woods and found you here." Panda felt there was more to the story. "You looked at our cave photo, didn't you?" "Yep. So, what's going on?" "Oh, Grizz just went out to invite people over. You didn't see him?" Jessica found it strange that she didn't catch one glimpse of him since she set foot in the cave. "No. I didn't." But, considering that she's starting day two with the bears, it seemed normal, so she shrugged it off. "Maybe I'll talk to Grizz later." Jessica took a look at Ice Bear's cooking and was impressed. "Wow. Was he always this good?" "You have no idea." Panda then made a reminder to Ice Bear. "Remember, no nuts in mine. I'm allergic." "Ice Bear charges extra." Just then, Grizz came in. "Guys!" Then, he noticed Jessica on the room. "Whoa, Jessica! How's it going?" "It's going great. So what's up?" "I'll tell you what's up. I met some really nice people in the woods, and they're gonna come over and have juice with us later!" As he laughed, he realized a crucial detail. "Anyone remember to buy pulp-free?" Jessica was baffled given the Bears' usual behavior in certain situations. "Really? Just like that?" Panda put the rumors to Rest In Peace. "I don't know, Grizz. People always say they'll come over, but they never do. I think we need a bigger TV." _'Oh. That makes sense.'_ Putting aside the fact that they say they come over (in reality, Grizz would most likely make that decision for them) she understood that they wouldn't come over that easy. Just then, Ice Bear got their attention with a green cloth on their meal. "Ahem. Priyatnogo appetita." When Ice Bear lifted the green cloth, Grizz's eyes widened as he looked at his breakfast, gasped, and laughed. Jessica was more impressed than she was previously as she surveyed the meals on the plate, with name tags for each. "Arigatou." "Wow!" "Whoa. He. Is. Good." "Ice Bear would've made breakfast for Jessica." "Nah, it's cool, Ice. I've already eaten before I left." Grizz had a crazy idea of his own. "W-we got to document this!" Jessica felt it unnecessary as he took Panda's phone. "Hey!" "Uh, what for?" "To show people how delicious it is, silly." Then, he zoomed the camera in on Panda. "Okay, chow down, Pan-Pan." "C'mon, man, I just want to eat my breakfast." Then, Panda continued to eat his breakfast, albeit feeling the pressure as the camera zoomed in on him. Then, the pressure became too much. "Come on, stop it, dude!" Fortunately, Grizz did just that as he seemed to get all he needed. "Golden! I got to post this online!" Jessica tried to stop Grizz. "Uh, Grizz? I wouldn't just-" However, it was already too late as he finished his breakfast in an instant and made off with Panda's phone. "To the internet!" Jessica and Panda could only call out to him. "You really need to consider this!" "You'd better not!" However, Panda sighed as he just went back to breakfast while Ice Bear cut his breakfast salmon with an axe. "It's uploading!" Jessica made sure to keep her distance, incidentally touching Panda in the process. By the time she'd noticed, the both of them were already beet-red and turned away in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry." "No, it-it's fine." Only Grizz's voice broke them out of their stupor. "It's public!" Both Jessica and Panda spoke at the same time realizing the potential danger it poses. "Huh?"

They immediately took off to Grizz's room where Panda's laptop seemed to be. Once they did, Panda slammed his upper body on the desk in protest. "Take it down!" Grizz, however, only saw the upside. "Hang on, little brother. Just watch. Millions of people are gonna want to see this." Jessica knew different while Ice Bear repeatedly refreshed the screen. "I don't know, guys. I mean, I don't want to be a jinx, but the most it's going to get is a dislike." Evidently, she was right, as a thumb-down icon glowed red with a number one below it, which was the same number as the views. "Aw!" "Why must people hate?" "It wasn't that bad." "Like I said, I didn't want to be right." "Ice Bear will hunt them down." Jessica's eyes widened in a potential fight-or-flight response to Ice Bear's promise. Before she could run, though, Grizz spoke in panic. "Quickly, click on something to make me feel better!" "Oh, right." Jessica just clicked on a random video, which happened to be from... Nom Nom. Other people may have thought he was cute, but she knew better. She saw him for a self-centered egotist he really was. She told herself she wouldn't go to his videos on her terms, yet here she was, watching him eat leaves with the Bears, who were just as confused. "I don't feel any better." "Sorry. I don't know why I clicked that one." "But look at how many views it has!" Grizz took a look for himself and was shocked. "50 million?!" Jessica could care less about the views. She already knows how 'popular' he was, but that didn't matter to her one bit. "Yeah? So what?" "Dude, that's like a-a hundred million eyes!" "Yeah. A waste of a good hundred million, apparently." Grizz grew much better, though. "Oh! Click on his website." Jessica begrudgingly did so, at her own behest. "This is amazing! Action figures, and day-of-the-week underwear! Do it! Click all of them!" That crossed the line for Jessica. "Nope. Not doing this." Panda was perplexed with her attitude. "Jessica, what have you got against that koala?" Jessica didn't feel the need to explain herself, at least not today. "I don't want to talk about it." Grizz grew ecstatic as he thought about what he considered perks. "So many followers, so many friends. Being internet-famous sounds amazing." Jessica scoffed and knew otherwise. "Well, take it from me. It's not all it's cracked up to be. I used to be internet famous for three years in a row." However, Grizz didn't seem to listen as he was stuffing himself with imaginary Salmon Bagels. "Uh, hello?" "Oh, sorry. What were you saying?" Jessica huffed while Panda explained. "She just said that she was internet-famous three years in a row once." That gave Grizz an idea, which pumped his excitement even further. "Guys, we can do this too! We're gonna make viral videos so we can become internet-famous!" Jessica still turned away. "No thanks. I quit that life for a reason, guys." Panda got the gist. "It's because of Nom Nom, wasn't it?" Jessica grew flustered and started to snap, but reminded herself that they just met and she should learn to behave if they want to stay friends. "That's... not really, any of your business, but-" Just as she was about to answer, Grizz spoke further. "Think about it. Panda, you know those 50 million views had at least one girl in there." Panda seemed to have ignored Jessica as he thought about more girls. "Mm, internet ladies." Jessica cleared her throat to get his attention. "Um, you know I'm right here, right?" Panda immediately grew embarrassed. "Oh, shoot." "Jessica, you could be popular like you were before." In that moment, Jessica let Grizz's influence get the best of her. "Grizzly Bear, you've given me reason to hope again. But I'm not acting, though." "And think of all the internet glory you could bask in!" "Ice Bear enjoys basking." Then it was agreed. For today, they would trod the path to internet stardom. "All right, paws in!" "Wait, what is this? We've never done this." "Yeah, my hand isn't exactly a paw." "Just - just go with it." Then, Jessica, Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear put their hands and paws on each others'. "Okay, on three. 1, 2, 3." "Internet famous!" Then, Panda turned back. "Let me finish my breakfast first."

Then, Grizz found a camera and when he put it on his face, the screen was black. "All right, wait. Why isn't anything showing up?" Jessica knew what the problem was. "Maybe try turning it on?" "Oh, yeah. Right."

After that, it was Jessica's turn to hold the camera. Jessica looked at Panda and giggled to herself. "You look so cute, Pan-Pan, I just might eat you up." "Why do I have to wear toilet paper on my head?" "Sorry, Panda. That's the best we could do on such short notice. Now, action!" Then, Panda started to stammer. "Oh. Oh, w - Oh, where?" Jessica whispered to Panda. "Project." "Oh - Oh, where am I? I am a lost baby." "Good, now look for Mom." Then, Panda leaned down as he put his hand on his forehead. "M-mom? Mom?" "Keep it up." "Mom, are you in there?" "And cue the bottle." Suddenly, Ice Bear chucked the bottle at Panda, knocking him to the floor and causing him to have difficulty. "Wait, not like that!" "It's not my fault I was born round." Jessica felt embarrassed to go any further. "Let's move on." Then, Ice Bear tossed the blue blanket on Panda before turning the camera to Grizz. "Okay, am I in frame?" "Uh, yes." "Good." Then, Grizz began to lay out the whole point of his section. "Wow! Look at this cute, small box!" Then, Grizz began to trample the box. "Would it not be cute if I were to sit in it?" After laying down on the box, Jessica gave her opinions as she laughed a bit. "No, but I'm sure the box has gone to heaven." Then, the camera turned to Ice Bear, who tossed a red cloth upward before flipping the couch backward as he performed interpretive dance. When he was finished, Jessica was more impressed with that than the others. "I'll give it a 9 for the dazzling display."

After the camera turned off, Grizz typed the footage on the keyboard. "Cutest video ever. #righteous, #holla." "#pandasingle." Jessica got the gist and smiled to herself while Ice Bear gave a hashtag of his own. "#icebearforpresident." After typing it up, Grizz looked at his handiwork. "Well, what do you think?" Then, Jessica gave out an idea of her own. "Well, we really shouldn't have too many hashtags. And we can't really expect to be popular the instant it's sent. What's really important is that we hung out and spent time with each other. So, we'll start with 'Cute In Real Life' #jessiebailandfriends." After she typed it, the Bears were impressed. "Wow." "You really are an artist, Jessica." "Ice Bear will hire you for manager." "Thanks, guys. So, we ready to do this?" Everyone nodded before Jessica uploaded it. "There." Then, the bears backed up. "All right, step back. Let it breathe, guys." Jessica found it off and tried to correct them. "Uh, you know it's just a laptop, right?" She came to regret that, because Grizz instantly plowed her to get to the screen. "I got to refresh!" When, Grizz did so, there were no changes. "Nothing." Then, Jessica muffled. "Um, hello? Human pancake here?" Grizz got embarrassed and helped her up. "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry." "It's cool. I understand your excitement, but great art takes time. We can't expect to be popular instantly, remember?" "That's cool, that's cool. I mean, it's only been a minute, right?" Jessica wanted to be sure. "So, are we done here?" "Yeah, you guys can go. I'm just gonna hang here and wait till we get more frien- I mean hits." Jessica shrugged her shoulders. "Alright. But you may be there for longer than you think. Just sayin'." With that, Jessica, Panda, and Ice Bear walked out, leaving Grizz with the laptop.

When they walked out of the room, Jessica felt it was time to go. "Well, I gotta go. It was fun making videos again. Especially since I've got to do it with you." Panda blushed hard from that. "Aw, stop." After clearing his own throat, to prevent him from blushing anymore that is, he inquired of her. "So, will you be here same time tomorrow?" "Of course, Pan-Pan. I wouldn't miss this for the world."

When she got home, Jessica found Patricia on her phone. "Hey, Mom." Patricia smiled back at her daughter with a grin. "What?" "You never told me you were making viral videos again." Jessica instantly grew embarrassed. "Mom! You knew?!" "I monitor the internet, Jessie. Nothing happens there that I don't know about. Also. I have an account." Jessica let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright, fine. I did start making viral videos again." Patricia wanted to know the reason. "But why? I thought you swore you wouldn't." "Well... it's a recent development. For three years I let the fame ride my life, and look how well that turned out." "Jessica, if this is about Nom Nom, you shouldn't try to rub it in his face." Jessica was not going down that particular road. "What? No. That wasn't the point I was making. I was trying to say that by making it for fun and with friends, I actually felt more popular, because I'm surrounded by people who really do think of me as a friend. That's why I started making videos again." Patricia then smiled, although she also knew of the nasty side of it. "Well, you're still bound to get dislikes." "So? I don't care what they think. Not anymore. And I'll prove it."

The next morning, when she stopped by again, Grizz didn't feel the same. She noticed that Grizz was unmoving from his desk, and grumbling as well. When she looked at the monitor, she knew why. There were no views or likes, but thankfully, no dislikes either. "Oh. I tried to warn you, Grizz." "Comfort me." Jessica tried to look at other videos, more conscious of her decision this time and clicked on a video of people tripping. "How about this?" "No! Not even people tripping can heal my wounds." Then, Panda noticed an ad on the side. "Whoa. Isn't that the koala from that video?" Jessica saw for herself it was the case. "Unfortunately." When Jessica clicked on it, they ended up on the website for the meme con. "Hold on, what?! A me-me con?!" "Mee-mee?" "It's actually pronounced 'meme'." "A meme con! Internet celebs. Meme tryouts. Judged by Nom Nom himself?!" Jessica saw no reason to go. "As if I want to make a video with him." Grizz, however, felt otherwise. "We're going!" Jessica grunted. "Why?" "Well, how else are we gonna show that video, Jessica?" Jessica let out a deep breath. "Okay. But first, I'll tell Mom."

At the meme con, Jessica, Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear looked at the participants as far as the eye can see. One group in particular, known as 'Cat Fans', of course, were big fans of cats. Jessica looked at the group and shrugged. "Eh. No offense intended, but I'm more of a dog person." "Wow! Look at all the internet celebrities here." "Well, not all of them are celebrities. Some are just fans based off a certain aspect. But they do seem to pack the place." One girl was holding an octopus with a beret covered in purple paint and whistled at it to paint a picture. Once it did so, it fell in the bucket as people took photos and/or applauded. Next, a girl was trying to get a pig with flowers on its head to sign a book. "Sign it, Porkins. Right here, Porkins. Right here. Porkins, sign here." Panda was awestruck and nervous about the participants. "I didn't think so many people would be competing." "Yeah, I know. The number of people coming here to see Nom Nom just baffles me." "Ice Bear should have trained before coming." Grizz wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste. "No sweat, guys. They got nothing on us. Now let's get in there!" "Actually, I'll just wait out on this one. I still don't feel like seeing Nom Nom." Normally, Grizz would try to figure out why, but because of his pumped up enthusiasm, he chose to acknowledge her decision. "Suit yourself. Hyah!" Instantly, they took off and went through the line. Jessica just walked around to the exit door, expecting them to be out in half a minute. However, that took twice as long before they were booted. "I have questions!" Jessica made an easy guess. "Let me guess, Nom Nom said no?" That only infuriated a Grizz even further. "Wait, wait! I'm going back in there." Jessica, Panda, and Ice Bear tried to stop him. "Grizz, wait!" "Grizz! Come on, man. We know now for sure that we're not cut out for this, and that's okay." "What's really important was the time we spent doing that video, together. Remember that?" "Ice Bear has been sleeping for 15 minutes." However, Grizz was too determined to get to Nom Nom to listen to them. "Don't you get it? This is it! This is our chance to make more friends than we've ever had!" Panda felt that his wishes weren't acknowledged and tried to snap him back to reality. "Come on, Grizz. We've had enough. You're being kind of a - a dingle." Ice Bear covered his mouth while Jessica just got confused. "Huh?" However, Grizz responded defensively. "Whoa! No need to roll out the 'd' word. Don't sweat it. I'm gonna sort this all out with Nom Nom." Jessica spoke to him next. "Don't bother." "Wha?" "I told you I quit for a reason. Nom Nom was that reason." Grizz tried to understand. "What? But why?" Jessica was about to explain when Grizz was shoved away as the doors flew open. Then, the crazed fans of Nom Nom swarmed around him, creating a barricade and a labyrinth for Panda, Ice Bear, and Jessica to get separated easily. But, that wasn't going to stop Grizz, who took off. "There he goes. Now's our chance." Jessica, Panda, and Ice Bear tried to stop him. "Grizz, wait!" "Come back! Where are you going? Don't leave." However, Grizz had already masked his presence in the crowd. When the limo drove off, the fans immediately started to follow it, leaving only Jessica, Ice Bear, and Panda on the entrance by the sidewalk. "Grizz?! Grizz?!" "Where are you?!" There was no reply. Then, it dawned on her. "He must've gone in the limo." Panda was getting worried. "Well, what do we do?!" Jessica took a deep breath and felt it best to not involve them anymore than they already were. After all, they did want to go home. "I'll go look for him. You guys can go back home. You've been through enough already." Panda started to get a sense as to what it was about. "This is about Nom Nom, isn't it? Don't tell me you're leaving us too." Jessica hugged Panda tightly to reassure him. "Don't worry. I'm not. I just had a feeling Grizz will need a lot of comfort right now." Then, Jessica went into her blue sedan and buckled her seat belt. "My mom will pick you up once I let her know. We'll meet back at the Cave." As she drove off, Panda looked longingly. "Alright, Jessica."

At the streets, Jessica looked left and right at each sidewalk until finally, she saw a familiar brown shape and pulled the car over. She tried to talk to Grizz as she got out once she found out he was heartbroken. "Grizz? You doing okay?" Grizz responded emotionless. "I don't want to talk about it." Jessica immediately knew why he wouldn't. "Grizz, you've been tossed out by Nom Nom, weren't you?" "Yeah. He also said you were the last one to be tossed out like that." Jessica sighed at her unfortunate event. "Well, he's not wrong. My third year of stardom, I was exactly like you. I actually did what you did and broke into the limo. That's how I got my first phone." Jessica got out her phone and took a look at his own. "Wow." "Anyway, when I talked with him, I found out the hard way, like you did, that he's not who I thought he was. I couldn't get over that for a week." Jessica laughed at a certain memory of hers. "You should've seen my bed. It was completely waterlogged. The point is, if you remember them for who they really are, not who you want them to be, it makes it easier to move on." "But I did all this to make friends." "You have. You've got me. So what if Nom Nom doesn't appreciate you? If he can't handle the Grizzly, then he doesn't deserve you. That's what Mom told me, by the way. Except the Grizzly part." Then, Grizz smiled and hugged Jessica. "Thank you, Jessica. You always know what to say." "Well, what are friends for?" Then, Jessica brought Grizz into the car. "So, wanna get some juice?"

When they got back to the cave, Jessica and Grizz were carrying bags of pulp-free orange juice while having difficulty with the doorknob. "Why isn't this working?" "Did you try turning left?" When Grizz tried it, it happened to have worked. "Oh, it's open." Then, when they opened the door, they found Patricia, Panda, and Ice Bear waiting. "Oh!" "Hey, everyone. Uh, Grizz, don't you have something you want to say?" Under support, Grizz tried to apologize, mainly to Patricia. "So... sorry we took so long to get home. We got juice! Pulp-free! I thought maybe we could drink it together. And, also, I just wanted to say, uh -" Patricia waved him off. "You don't need to apologize. Jessica told me what you guys were doing ahead of time. It's no big deal." Grizz felt relieved. "Phew. Thanks, Ms. Bailey." Then, Ice Bear walked up to Grizz and hugged him. "Aww, I didn't know you cared so -" However, the moment didn't seem to last as Ice Bear flipped Grizz onto the floor. "Don't ditch Ice Bear." Patricia backed up in caution as Grizz smiled. "Fair enough." Jessica and Grizz then felt the whole weight lifted off while she wasn't thinking about Nom Nom anymore. "Phew. I'm glad that's over with." "Yeah. I don't even care if they haven't seen our video yet." Then, Panda brought up some good news. "Actually, we have a surprise for you, guys." "Really?" "Rad!" However, Grizz realized his situation. "Oh, wait. Can't move."

Panda put his paws over Jessica and Grizz's eyes to keep it hidden. "Okay, open." Jessica and Grizz opened their eyes and saw the video on the screen. "Wait. Isn't that our video?" "Look closer." Jessica noticed that her video was viewed 100 times with 10 likes. That instantly grabbed Grizz and Jessica's attention. "Ooh!" "But how?" Patricia admitted her involvement. "Well, I may have pulled a few strings." Panda pointed to one more surprise. "Check the comments!" On the comments bar, it just showed an anonymous character with a link to a free car. To Jessica, it was completely unnecessary, but for Grizz's sake, she called it a win. "Not bad." "Guys, this is great! We've got to celebrate!"

Then, everyone made themselves buttered bagels with orange juice. Jessica made the toast while holding her bagel. "Alright, guys. I'd like to make a toast. I'd love more than anything to celebrate this occasion for one reason: friendship. My previous stardom started out with it, but then fame took over. But I can assure you, this will never happen again, because we've got each other. And if they can't handle it, then they don't deserve us. Cheers!" "Cheers!" After the toast, Grizz held two bagels with his ears and the other on his nose as Panda laughed while Ice Bear and Patricia ate. As for Jessica she looked at the video one last time and noticed a new comment, from an all too familiar username of a certain koala stating: "Not bad, rookie." Jessica simply just smiled and logged off before she went back in the kitchen. "Hey, save some for me!"


	3. Food Truck

"Food Truck"

It started on a rare location that appeared to be a forest. Jessica and her family, specifically her mother Patricia and her little 6-year old brother Sam, were in line for one of the food trucks that served a Ramen Taco. A lot of the food trucks in the area along with it combined two of their favorite meals: Chinese and Mexican. Sam was still confused about the product itself. "What's a Ramen Taco?" Jessica smiled at her younger brother, eager to enlighten him. "Only one of the greatest foods ever! They actually combine ramen noodles into a shape of a taco, fry it until it hardens, and then they fill it with hamburger meat, lettuce, dressing, tomatoes, and cheese like it's a taco! It also comes in a vegetarian style, fortunately for you." Sam became greatly excited for his long-awaited food. "Oh, wow! I can't wait to eat one!" Meanwhile, the bears didn't share Sam's kind of optimism. "Oh, man. When do we get to eat? This line's taking forever." "Ice Bear's tired of staring at this guy's butt." In an act of sensitive caution, the guy in front of the bears moved forward a little bit. Panda might be the most anxious of them all. "Can you tell me how much longer? I may die soon." "From up here, I would say... 15 to 75 minutes." Suddenly, a guy with a beanie hat showed up with a Ramen Taco, catching their attention. "Whoa! Is that the Ramen Taco? Lucky!" Panda took a picture of that, blinding the consumer with a short flash to his inconvenience. Then, he walked away briskly with the taco, a photo of which Panda desired greatly. "Wow. There it is. I want to eat my phone now. I told you we should have settled for the Mac and Cheese Pizza truck." The moment those words left his mouth, Grizz put his paw down (literally). "No, Panda. When it comes to food, we never settle." "Okay, okay." "We're good, law-abiding citizens, and we deserve that Ramen Taco. Maybe 10 of them." Ice Bear didn't feel as though he can even have enough time of his life to enjoy them. "Good-bye, cruel world." Then, Ice Bear collapsed, causing the rest of the stack to topple as well.

Eventually, Sam, Jessica, and Patricia managed to get theirs and noticed the bears. Jessica became surprised and elated that they're here. "Guys?" The Bears noticed Jessica and her family as well. "Jessica? What are you doing here?" "Ice Bear wants to know." "Well, it just happened to be our ideal spot to enjoy exotic foods and nature at the same time." Panda saw Sam and grew curious. "Who's this little fella?" "This is Sam. I should've told you I had a brother, but-" "N-No, no. It's fine. I actually like the little guy." Suddenly, Sam jumped onto Panda's leg and climbed up. Panda was grunting as Sam tried to scale the black and white mountain of a bear as Jessica giggled. "I'm guessing Sam likes you too." Panda grumbled in embarrassment as she continued to giggle. Jessica asked the bears a question as she pryed her brother from Panda's back. "So, you guys holding up?" "Actually, I don't know if we can hold on for much longer." Suddenly, the vendor shouted to the bears. "Order 74! Next!" Immediately, the bears rushed to the vendor. Sam had a theory. "They must really be hungry." Patricia found herself in agreement. "Yeah. No kidding." After seeing the bears, Sam grew excited about them. "So, Jessica, when did you meet the bears?" Jessica chuckled before telling him her answer. "It was about the first day after we moved in."

From then on, she proceeded to tell the whole story about how she played a great game of Basketball, only to be plunged into a world of Vigilantism and busting the dreaded Pigeon Cartel, the criminals responsible for their missing items. Sam was really impressed. "Whoa! You actually arrested the bad pigeons?!" "Yep. That was a one-time thing, though. I don't know if that's going to happen again." Then, she heard a faint voice. She could've sworn she heard Grizz yelling at the vendor. "Oh, we understand! Your food stinks!" Panda and Ice Bear drag Grizz away from the vendor. "No! I'm not done complaining yet! I will be heard- on the internet!" Jessica grew confused about the reason for his outburst. "That's weird. What made Grizz act like that? I guess Ramen Tacos just aren't for everyone." Patricia had a different theory. "Or maybe he's angry, because he wants the food, but he can't have it." "What do you mean, Mom?" "Just look at the sign." Jessica looked at the sign that said no feeding wildlife. "Oh. That." "Its obvious that he's mad, because he can't have it." "It could mean anything, Mom. They're not exactly wild." "Sure, they're domestic, but I don't think it gives them the right to eat foodmade by people." Jessica became offended, but knew better than to mess around with her mother, given her anger issues. "Let's agree to disagree."

After eating the Ramen Tacos, they spent the day playing in the grass with their frisbee and looking at the clouds. One of the clouds looked exactly like Panda, so when Jessica took notice of that, she blushed beet red instantly. And so it went, until they heard honking from a distance. At the table, Jessica and Sam noticed a food truck with the state of California as the background. "Look, Mom. A new food truck." "That's weird. I thought every one of them was here." "Can we go look, mom?" Patricia agreed on one condition. "Alright, as long as Jessica goes with you." "Cool! Thanks Mom!" With that, Sam pulled on Jessica toward the new food truck. When the door opened, music played as Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear introduced their new food truck. Panda held a sign in the shape of California with the word Calzone in it. "It's the Beeeeaaar's Calzone!" "Ye-e-ah!" "The bears?" "Yay!" Patricia saw all that she needed to see. "Oh. That explains it." Grizz cleared his throat and proceeded with the announcement. "Anyways, come and enjoy our wonderful calzones!" "Please!" "Whoo! Ha!" "Mm-hm!" As Grizz chuckled, everyone else went back to their own business while Sam immediately ran for Grizz with Jessica behind him. Grizz noticed Sam with wide eyes. "Oh. Hey there, Sammy. What's up?" "Can I have a Calzone?" Grizz got out a tray of free samples for Sam. "Sure thing. It's only one free Calzone sample per customer." "Cool!" Sam gladly took the Calzone and ate it. When he did, his eyes went wide with wonder. "It tastes so good!" Jessica grew impressed. "Wow. How'd you do it, guys?" Ice Bear was eager to answer the question. "Ice Bear followed passion of cooking." Jessica took the sample herself and was impressed. "Oh, wow! This is amazing!" "Ice Bear knows." "How come no one else is eating them?" "Don't worry. We'll fix that soon enough. Okay guys, you know what to do." With that, they turned their hats and chapeau to the side and got down to business.

While they did so, Jessica and Sam sat down on the table, where Patricia was suspicious. "So, I've noticed the bears had their own food truck." Sam filled in to answer her. "Uh-huh! And their food tastes so good!" "But I thought you liked the Ramen Taco?" "I still do, but their food is so much better!" Patricia decided to talk to Jessica. "Listen, Jessica, I know they're your friends, but how do you know they won't get into trouble?" "That's the thing, Mom. We don't." "So why aren't you doing anything about it?" "Mom, their food is actually pretty darn good. Honestly, I don't see any downside." "What if they start feeding the wildlife?" "Pfft. Come on, Mom. Even they would never do that." "What makes you so sure?" "Well, they don't have the money to pay for the fine." "Well, they're not going to get any by the looks of it." Patricia pointed to Panda trying to attract attention with a sign. "Fresh Calzones!" Panda was having trouble with the sign just as a person walked by. "Okay. H-Hey, would you like to try a Calzone? No? Okay." Panda then flipped the sign inadequately as another person passed once again. "Oh, hey, you should get a Calzone! Or not. Just keep walking. That's fine." While trying to flip the sign, he smacked himself in the face. "Oh! Ow." Jessica giggled at Panda's mishap, leaving a confused look on Sam's face before he understood and changed it to a smug grin. "You love Panda, don't you?" "W-What? I just think he's funny and cute." Patricia got Jessica back into the conversation. "Jessica, the point I'm trying to make here is that these, uh, how can I say this nicely, animals are more trouble than they're worth." "That's why I want to be their friend, Mom. Sure they have a lot to learn, but they'll learn faster if I'm with them." "You mean like how you ended up on the news?" Jessica started to act matter-of-factly. "I'll have you know, I caught a Pigeon Cartel, Mom." "You're lucky you did, or we'd be having a different discussion." "The point I'm trying to make is that I want to be their friend because it helps them. And for the record, they're not just animals, Mom." "We'll see about that, young lady." Sam tugged on Mom's shirt. "Mom, can I get another Calzone?" Patricia wasted no time giving him her answer. "No." "But why?" "If you want to get a Calzone, take it up with your sister." Jessica grumbled at her mother, not because Sam's being dumped on her a lot recently, if anything she's happy to look after him, but it seemed like bad parenting on her part. Patricia saw the look and scolded her. "Don't give me that look. You know I'm not going to take part in their ridiculous act of protest." "They're not protesting, Mom. They're just trying to sell food." Anger aside, she calmed down and took Sam with her to the bear's food truck. "Come on, Sam." As they were walking they saw that the bears were having no luck with their business. Panda saw a bug and moved the sign directly above it to squish it, but the bug still went along. Grizz had no luck giving away free samples either. He tried to get the attention of a customer. "Samples?" However, he didn't seem to notice and walked away from him. Grizz art his head on the truck and sighed disappointedly. Only Jessica's voice broke through their stupor. "Excuse us. We'd like to get two California Calzones please." Ice Bear saw that as a happy moment and instantly got out two Calzones fresh from the oven. Sam received the Calzone and was grateful. "Thank you." "So, any luck?" Panda answered her. "Not really. Other than you two, no one else wanted to eat our Calzones." Jessica felt sorry for them. "Oh. Sorry Ice." Not to say he wasn't grateful for his two customers, but the fact that no one else came to eat his culinary masterpiece drove Ice Bear to the brink of rage quitting, as he tossed his apron and chapeau to the floor and walked out of the truck growling at the sky. Panda was still confused about the way things have been going on. "I don't get it. Our food is good. Why do people eat that stuff?" Patricia's voice gave them the answer. "Because, you're wildlife. And no sane person would eat foods made by wildlife, no matter how culinarily inclined you are." Jessica started growling to the point her teeth would break on contact. "Why are you being such a jerk, Mom?! At least have some sensitivity!" "Animals aren't sensitive, Jessica. That's just simple science." "Simple Science, my foot! They're not just animals!" However, Grizz's desperate act proved her wrong. "Hey, you! Why don't you eat our food, huh?! Why?! It's so delicious!" Jessica saw Grizz's said desperate act and tried to calm him down while Patricia smiled to herself. "Grizz, stop!" Jessica got in between the man and Grizz. "Look, Grizz, I know how much you want them to have some Calzones, but that isn't the right way to do it. Now, just calm down and let him go." Grizz took a deep breath and responded calmly. "Okay." With that, Grizz let the man go. "Sorry, sir. Please, go on with your day." Patricia chuckled as she knew that she wouldn't have to prove her point. "If that isn't animalistic behavior, I don't know what is. The fact of the matter is, you animals can't sell food to people, never mind do it properly. So I suggest you give up on your protest, go back to the cave you live in, and stick with it." With that, Patricia walked away with a smug grin on her face, leaving Jessica growling and tearing her hair out. Panda tried to calm her down. "Uh, Jessica?" However, when Panda tried to calm her down, she snapped like a twig and instantly started yelling. "You can forget it, Mom! Because they're the best darn food truck ever invented! And if they shut down, then you'll be missing out on their greatness! So the joke's on you!" As Jessica huffed and puffed, Ice Bear applauded. "Ice Bear accepts preach." After calming down, Jessica realized her mistake of an unnecessary outburst. "I made it personal, didn't I?" Panda nervously answered. "Yeah, you, uh, kinda did." With that, Jessica growled. "I'm sorry, guys. She's just such a- Argh! I'm going to go for a walk." Sam ran over to the profusely angry Jessica. "Wait! Jessie!" As Sam ran after Jessica, Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear were all alone again. Grizz put his head down in sadness. Panda petted Grizz's back. "There, there."

At the woods, Jessica stormed in a huff as she thought of Mom's snide remarks. "What gives Mom the right to call my friends animals? They know how to do stuff people do like everyone else! WHY CAN'T YOU OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE THAT?!" As she yelled, it echoed throughout the whole forest. Jessica then stomped on her feet to a nearby tree with some shade and sat down, snorting out a puff of air, before noticing Sam's sad look. "Sam. I-I didn't mean-" Before she could finish, Sam hugged his dear sister. With that, Jessica hugged him just as tightly. Sam wanted to know the cause of their dispute. "Why do you hate Mom so much?" Jessica didn't know what to explain to him. "I-I don't hate her. It's just- We just disagree on this food truck thing, that's all. I was trying to help them, but she was being so insensitive to them. They're more than just animals, and she knows it." Sam wanted to know why she's being rude to them as well. "Why's Mom being so mean?" "I... I don't know. I wish I knew, but I'm not some sort of crystal ball that has all the answers. Mom was nice to them when they brought me back home, but why is she acting that way now?" As she took in the surroundings, she noticed an extreme lack of wildlife in the area. "Hmm. That's weird. We usually see one or two animals in the next quarter hour." Sam had an idea. "Maybe they went somewhere else?" "It wouldn't be that easy, Sam. The only place they would go besides here is-" Suddenly, realization dawned on her about the lack of animals in the area. "Oh, no. Sam, we're going back, now!" With that, she took Sam above her shoulders and ran with him.

When they came back, she'd noticed that the bears were giving their food to animals. "Here you go, sir." "Come again!" "Oh, man! Totally owned those other food trucks!" Then, the bears noticed Jessica in a state of panic. "Whoa, Jessica. Are you doing okay?" "What... have you... done?" Grizz was more than happy to answer. "Oh, nothing. We were just giving out food to our customers. We took your mom's advice and started selling them to wildlife." "No. No, no, no, no, no! You don't know what you've done!" Suddenly, the vendor of the Ramen Taco and a few others stormed over to them. "Hey! What are you guys doing?! You're driving away all the customers!" To emphasize their point, they pointed to the wildlife eating random foods from other people. Meanwhile, Patricia felt too highly of herself to pay attention to her surroundings. "I don't think it's too early for a victory sip." However, when Patricia got to the Coffee truck, she found that animals are giving away money and directly using the mug of Coffee to put some into their cup. "Uh, never mind." Patricia then got an idea as to how this happened. "Wait a minute." As she looked around she noticed the bears in a heated argument with the vendors. "Oh, you're just jealous, 'cause our Calzones are legit!" Suddenly, a bird swooped in to steal the Calzone from Grizz. "Hey! You didn't pay for that!" Suddenly, a herd of deer ran toward them, scooping up Panda in the process. Next, a pack of Possums snatched the Calzones like ninjas. Then, a wolf made off with a string of sausages. In the chaos, animals began attacking trucks and people, because of their dissatisfaction. The vendors climbed onto one food truckfor safety, as did Jessica with Sam in tow, Patricia, and the bears. Once they were trapped, the bears spoke to the vendors. "Fellow food truckers, Ms. Bailey, on behalf of myself and my bros, we'd like to say, 'our bad'." The vendors had begun to lose hope and began to mourn. "That food truck was all I had." "My food truck was passed down to me for three generations." "I lost my family in that food truck. I will never see them again." However, a woman and a child stepped up toward him. "Oops. Never mind. There they are." Despite the chaos, Patricia never lost her smug face. "Still think they're more than just animals?" Angry as she was, she was more focused on solving the problem. "You're enjoying this, aren't you Mom?" "In a word, yes." "Well, there's a time to be smug, and a time to actually solve the problem. Okay, everyone calm down. We just need a plan to get out of this." Panda didn't seem to be paying attention to Jessica as he somberly got out his phone. "One last picture." After he took the picture, a flash came on, giving Grizz an idea. "Wait! That's it!" Grizz snatched the phone from Panda's paws. "Hey, I'm not done posting it!" When an animal tried to jump into the truck, Grizz snapped a photo of it and scared it off with its flash. "Step off!" Jessica knew that Grizz had found a ticket out of their predicament. "Grizz, you're a genius! We'll use the flash to scare them off and get away from here in one piece!" "Follow me, food truckers! To freedom!" With that, Grizz was the spearhead of the escape route, taking pictures of every animal that lunged at them, providing safe passage. Escape seemed within reach. "Come on, everyone!" Suddenly, a hawk caused Grizz to drop Panda's phone to the floor, and ended up falling along with it and Panda. When they got down, Ice Bear slid down briskly while Jessica leaped down. "Are you guys okay?" Their situation proved to be quite perilous as a pack of animals surrounded them. Patricia slid down next to them as Grizz tried to calm them down. "Get behind me, guys! You guys up there, be cool. We got this under con-" However, they were already running out of the forest. Grizz found it insensitive. "Well, that was kind of rude." Patricia felt otherwise. "Actually, I'd say that's appropriate." "Mom..." Patricia tried to explain the reason for her statement. "I mean, isn't escaping the whole point of this?" The animals continued to swarm them, cutting off any chance of escape. Unfortunately, Panda's phone was low on battery. "Oh, no! The battery's dead!" In desperation, Grizz chucked the phone at them. However, it only managed to hit a skunk who stared at them blankly. Sensing what was about to happen, Jessica gave them a warning. "In the truck. Now." They were given no more incentives when the skunk turned and stuck its tail up. "Run!" Only Jessica, Sam, and Patricia got in the truck, closed all the windows, and ducked. Outside, an atomic explosion of Skunk Stench filled the whole area. As a result, it scared the animals off to the forest. Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear were happy that they survived. "Hooray!" However, they realized that they smelled nasty. "Ugh!" When the truck opened up, Jessica and Patricia peeked out. "Is it over?" With one smell, they instantly gagged. "Yeah, it definitely is, Mom." When Sam smelled it, he wasn't as bothered by it as they were. "It smells like raw Gasoline."

Over time, the forest rangers arrived and sprayed water everywhere to try to eliminate the raw Skunk Stench. Meanwhile, Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear were dousing themselves in tomato juice to get rid of the stench as a ranger was fining them. "Okay, that's a fine for feeding the animals, selling without a permit, driving an unregistered truck, and disturbing the peace." Grizz was indifferent about it. "Yeah, it's not like this is the first ticket we've ever gotten." The ranger ripped off the ticket and handed it to Panda. "Thank you, officer." Far away, Patricia and Jessica were settling their dispute. "I'll say this about the bears. They know how to make things eventful." "That's true. But why have you been acting like such a jerk to them?" "To stop this from happening. I was being snide and insensitive to do what a good mother should do; prevent an incident before it happens." "Well, we can't stop them from happening, Mom, even if we try. It's okay to make mistakes if you learn from them. After today, they learned to leave food trucking to the food truckers. You know who taught me that?" Patricia immediately felt sheepish. "I did." "Now, what did you learn?" "To let them make their own mistakes and solve them themselves." Jessica was happy to hear it from Patricia. "That's right. Come here." With that, Jessica and Patricia hugged each other while Sam divulged in his own Calzone, spared from the Skunk Stench. The bears watched as they made up. Grizz was still leaning on the positive. "Well, at least we taste great." When Grizz tasted himself, he changed his mind. "1/4 star!"

 **A/N: Thanks so much for those reviews, guys. I mostly started this to give the limelight to a certain extra, who I feel should be more involved. Take a look at the bginning of the Food Truck episode and you'll see who I'm talking about. To make her more involved, I may or may not change her role completely depending on the episode. :) Also, you could expect at least 2-3 episodes later each week. Keep those positive reviews coming!**


	4. Chloe

**Chapter 4: "Chloe"**

Just outside the woods, Jessica was talking with Chloe on the phone. She was partnered up with the "Prodigy" of the college. Their assignment was to gather information on Bears. Jessica just so happened to know three certain bears that could help. "So, what are you doing now?" Chloe just couldn't contain herself. "I found a bear cave just by the clearing. I'm gonna gather up as much about the bears as I can." Jessica still felt caution is in order. "Well, don't go in just yet. You've got to let me catch up." Chloe, however, had other plans. "Sorry, but I gotta at least check if any bears are in here." "Chloe, wait!" However, the call already ended. Jessica knew what would happen if the Bears found out Chloe just broke into their home and didn't want any conflict. "I better hoof it and fast!" With that, she darted toward the woods.

When Jessica got there, she made it in time to see that she's too late, as the bears have already captured her. Fortunately, Chloe wasn't in any real danger. In fact, she seemed to be helping herself. "Phew. I don't know why I was this worried." Then, she opened the door, causing light to spill in the dark area, blinding the Bears. "Aah! Ohh! So bright!" Then, Ice Bear turned on the light, making the glare worse. Grizz was telling off Panda because he dropped the phone before. "How are we supposed to be cool when you're throwing our mood lighting around?" "I'm sorry! It was an accident! My paws are sweaty!" Jessica wanted a proper explanation. "Okay, can someone tell me what's going on here?" Grizz noticed Jessica and felt it to be good news. "Aw, Jessica! Thank goodness you're here. You've got to call the police. She broke into our cave." Jessica knew that Chloe was no criminal by their standards. "About that, Grizz, she's my classmate." Grizz was evidently puzzled. "You're classmates?" "Uh, yeah." Meanwhile, Chloe began writing up her findings on her little notepad. Grizz took notice of that and grew suspicious. "Hey, now. What are you writing there? Let me see." Grizz took a look at her writing and thought he was right. "Highly suspicious, I'd say." Panda and Ice Bear pitched in with agreement. "Yeah, this is super-invasive." "Ice Bear has too many secrets." Jessica felt they were getting too close to Chloe for her own good in terms of personal space. "Okay, first off, the only thing that's invasive is your lack of personal space." Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear then backed up. "Sorry." "Secondly, she's just doing a report on local bears, namely you three." Chloe pitched in with Jessica. "It's an assignment for our class." "Class for what - kindergarten?" Grizz laughed at his joke while Jessica grunted and Panda had a displeased look. "Up top." Ice Bear set his head down on Grizz's paw instead. Chloe was not one to be made fun of, though. "Actually, it's a college course. I skipped a couple of grades. So the joke's on you." Grizz was surprised by the amount of intelligence in her small body. "Wha?" Jessica took the opportunity to put Grizz's doubts to rest. "It's true. She's really smart for her age. They even called her, 'the prodigy'." However, Grizz was still not convinced. "Well, the proof..." Grizz didn't hesitate to pick up her backpack. "is in the pudding. We got your backpack. I'm gonna mess with your stuff and get answers at the same time." Considering her first misadventure, Jessica found it crossing the line. "Grizz, do you really want to go down that road again?" "A small price to pay to get answers, as far as I'm concerned." "But you've already got -" Then, Grizz noticed a packet of Honey Wasabi Gummies, Chloe's idea of a snack, not that she'd blame her. "Oh-ho! What's all this?" Then, Grizz put the wrapped snacks in his mouth and spoke with his mouth full. "I'm eating your stuff! How's it feel?" Jessica face-palmed herself while Chloe gave an angry look at him. "Don't you think you're being ridiculous?" Just then, a book about bears and an I.D. card fell out of the backpack next. "Whoa!" When Grizz picked up the card, he saw an image of the girl and her name, Chloe Park. "Aww. Is this you? Chlu..." "Cha-low-ee." "Chloh..." "Ch..." Jessica then gave out the actual pronunciation. "It's pronounced Chloe, guys." Ice Bear gave out a slightly embarrassing detail. "Ice Bear has never seen a smaller human." After Grizz laughed, Chloe had had enough. "Stop! Give me that! And spit those out!" After taking her I.D. back, Grizz spat out her treats as he gagged. "Gah!" "You're not even eating them right." Chloe unwrapped the candy, even though it was covered in saliva. Once she did, she handed one to Grizz. "Here you go." As Grizz put it in his mouth, Jessica gave him some friendly advice. "Fair warning, they're a little spicy." Then, Grizz's eyes gasped as he continued to eat, with tears trickling down his face. "Oh, my gosh, you guys. These are so good." "I told you they're spicy. But they do taste amazing." Then, she gave one to Panda, Ice Bear, and Jessica, two of which ended up having teary eyes. Grizz wanted another, despite the spiciness. "Can - can we have another?" Chloe agreed to it. "Sure!" Then, the bears instantly piled on the packet as Grizz dumped its contents onto the floor. "Whoo!" Then, Jessica relayed her idea from before. "You know, Chloe, they're the new friends I was telling you about. I thought maybe I can get them to help you out." Grizz heard the whole thing and agreed to it. "Deal!" Jessica smiled at his enthusiasm. "See? Always willing to help a friend."

The next day, Jessica and Chloe showed up to study the bears' behavior. Chloe was watching Grizz brush his teeth. Grizz noticed this and wanted to know of any specific requirements. "Should I be doing something?" "Nope. Just be normal." Then, Grizz shook his head around as he brushed his teeth after removing a towel from his head. After doing so, Grizz stood still and let the towel fall to the floor as Chloe wrote on the notepad.

 _Hey, hey, look to the sky_

 _The sun is bright_

 _There's not a cloud on view_

Meanwhile, Jessica was with Panda as he refreshed his phone to see if there were any matches that popped up.

 _Not a cloud in view_

Jessica clicked on Panda at her phone, letting him know that she sent an inbox message to him which asked if he'll accept Jessica as a match, to which he tapped 'yes' as Jessica smiled at him.

 _I'm thinking we make the most of the sunshine_

 _"What do you say" says me_

Then, Chloe noticed the two of them hugging and wrote on her notepad again.

 _Ooh, doo-doo, doo-doo_

Then, Ice Bear was performing aikido in front of the forest animals as if he was demonstrating it.

 _Don't wanna push, but you should look_

 _No gloom in these streets_

Suddenly, a flash went off, scaring all of the animals away, save for his opponent, a lizard with a red bandana. Evidently, turned out to be from Chloe, who wrote on her notepad afterwards.

 _I just saw a guy with a purple hat_

 _And that cloud looks a bit like a cat on a bike!_

Then, the bears walked out of the cave as Chloe and Jessica followed them on their bicycles.

 _Yo, rain cloud, chill_

 _Stay away_

At the train station, Jessica noticed that Sam was with his babysitter, who wore a fancy blue dress. Jessica turned to say hi to him, only to be bumped into Panda's butt by mistake, earning mad blushes from the both of them as Grizz and Sam laughed and Chloe wrote on her notepad again.

 _Not in the mood for your fluff, okay?_

The train took them to the Korean District in California, where Keith noticed them as he was studying foreign languages socially. Jessica waved to Keith, who noticed her and waved back.

At the restaurant, Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear were introduced to the delicious cuisine. Before they could act like themselves, Jessica urged them to mind their manners and set them down on their chairsas Chloe looked at the scene, much to Patricia's amazement as she noticed how fast they're learning.

 _Come back in two weeks, or two years, or maybe never_

 _'Cause I just want it bright now, forever_

Grizz handed one of the foods to Chloe, who was writing on her notepad again. When she noticed, she set the pen down and ate one dumpling.

At the store, Grizz, Panda, Jessica, Chloe, and Ice Bear were enjoying themselves as Ice Bear picked up the nunchucks and swirled them above his head, while Grizz was using a back scratcher on Panda, who then used Chloeas a human shield to protect himself as she laughed. Jessica, on the other hand, was using her own back scratcher on Panda, causing him to laugh as well.

Then, at the fair, everyone got to see the red dragon, except for Chloe. Luckily, that problem was corrected when the Bears put her on top of them. With that, she finally got to see the dragon parading around them.

Then, at the train, Chloe had lost her balance from the turbulence, only for Jessica to grab her hand while holding onto the Bears herself and ensure safe travels between them.

 _Rain cloud, chill_

 _Stay away for a while_

Back at the cave, Chloe was finishing up in her research as the bears were aquiver with anticipation. "Hey, friend. How's it going? You need anything? Are you almost done? When can I see?" Chloe may be almost finished, but his impatience wasn't helping in the least. "Hang on." "Oh, yeah. Cool, cool, cool. You got it." However, anticipation still existed in their wide eyes. Fortunately, that didn't stop Chloe, as she finished. "Done!" "Done!" Jessica gave Chloe a pat on the back as the bears applauded. "Nice work, Chloe." "Ice Bear believed in you." Grizz wanted to know if a certain reward was available. "Um, now that you're done, you wouldn't happen to have anything spicy for us, would you?" Chloe seemed confused. "Spicy? I don't think I know what you're talking about." Grizz and the others grew disappointed. "But you - you said... The thing." Then, Jessica and Chloe surprised them. "Just kidding!" "We got loads of them! Eat well, my friends!" With joyful abandon, the bears helped themselves to the gummies. Panda was enjoying the taste as he leaked tears again. "We worked so hard for this." Just then, Chloe's alarm went off, letting her know about the bus schedule. "Oh, no! The last bus! I've got to go!" Chloe got her bicycle helmet and turned to Jessica. "You coming?" "It's cool. I got a ride of my own." "Okay! Sorry for dashing! I'll see you guys!" After she left, Grizz and the others thought back to how much fun they had. "Well, that was fun. Now time to enjoy our spoils." Then, they noticed a crucial detail. "Wait. Isn't that..." Grizz and the others got the same idea. "Oh, no." "Chloe's laptop! She needs this." Grizz got an idea as he displayed a certain sneaky look on his face; a look Jessica knew all to well. "What are you doing?" "Now that it's here, a little peek can't hurt." Jessica put her hand on the laptop and guarded it. "Absolutely not! This is _her_ laptop. You don't have the rights to her laptop." Just then, Jessica got an alarm of her own and realized she said get back for dinner. "Oh, right. You guys are lucky I have to go back home. But _don't_ look in her laptop. _Just_ _don't_." Jessica used her fingers to point at her eyes and then toward them as a reminder that she's keeping an eye on them. With that, she walked out of the cave, as cautious as ever.

The next day, Jessica saw Chloe running to California University just in time. "Oh, there you are." Chloe talked to Jessica about an important matter. "Have you seen the bears? They said they'll drop my laptop off." As if to answer, Grizz spoke in the bushes. "Guys. Hey, psst. Hey, guys." Jessica and Chloe turned to see Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear in a stack. "We're over here." Chloe was elated to see them again. "You guys made it!" "Of course. Here's your lappie, safe and sound." Panda gave Chloe the laptop, perplexing Jessica. "How did you manage to hold onto it?" "Its all in the paws, really." "Awesome! Thank you so much! I gotta run, but see you later!" Chloe then took off with the laptop as Grizz chuckled to himself. "Later, indeed." Unfortunately, Jessica knew what that laughter meant, too. "Alright, what did you do?" Grizz replied cool-like. "Oh, nothing. Just made a little editing to Chloe's project." Jessica instantly flipped out. "You what?! Grizz, this isn't some PowerPoint presentation! Our grades are on the line!" Despite this, Grizz didn't see any reason to worry. "Don't worry. We just made it more exciting. Everyone will totally like this better." Jessica just sighed. "Alright, fine. But if this affects our grades in any way, you'll answer to me." With that, Jessica stormed off in a huff, leaving Panda worried. "Uh, Grizz? Are you sure we did the right thing?" "Don't worry, Pan-Pan. She'll come around." With that, the stack mysteriously sank in the bushes, leaving only Grizz revealed. "Is there any more room down there?"

At the auditorium, Chloe was looking through her papers making sure they were all accounted for when the teacher spoke on the microphone. "Alright, everyone. We're going to start now. Will our first group come forward? Chloe, Jessica?" Jessica replied back. "Sure thing." Then, she and Chloe went down the stairs after passing through the crowd, just as Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear entered, disguised as students. As they got to the stage, Jessica noticed the three bears watching. Then, Chloe spoke for the presentation. "I'd like to introduce to you the topic of our report: Bears! We took the time to locate and study three bear specimens of the Northern California region and have compiled our facts on them to share with you today. Let's start with the next slide. Jessica?" Jessica simply nodded before looking at the bears and gave them a look that would send chills were they not so happy before she did just that. When she did, the PowerPoint began to show a black screen as Grizz spoke. "You thought you knew about Bears..." Then, it showed a picture of a bear swirling around into its mouth as it roared before it went black again. "YOU DON''T!" Both Chloe and Jessica looked in surprise and horror as they tried to skip to the next slide, where things got more worse than last time. "Nothing can recreate the majesty of a bear overlooking his realm." It showed a bear with a crown on its head standing on a rock by a waterfall with gold rising up beside him before lightning struck its paw and it showed a crowd swiping in and out as they shouted. Then, it showed a bear with black markings on its cheeks and a red bandana as it was placed on the ladder of the helicopter above, swirling into it to get away from the explosions that followed. "More often than not, Bears can be found saving the human race from themselves." Then, it showed a polar bear in the Arctic Ocean apparently brushing its teeth. "Bears are also the cleanest of this planet's creatures. They bathe an astonishing three times a month." Then, the slide went to a topic called Brazillian Jiu Jitsu. Next, it showed a Bear with a celebratory feathered hat from Brazil before spinning around, knocking everything away from it. "Bears have evolutionized to be masters of all kinds of combat." Chloe and Jessica tried to continue to the next slide for a slim hope that the next slide would be better. The teacher didn't appear pleased as she wrote on her notepad with a pen. Then, the slide then showed a few drawings of Grizz working out with more abs than could be counted. "Bears have more than eight abs with new abs being discovered every day!" Then, Panda spoke next as the slide showed a rose and a teddy bear with a heart. "Bears have feelings and that's a beautiful thing." The next slide showed a bear in a university with a graduatory cap as Ice Bear spoke next. "Bears are smart. Congratulations, Bear." The final slide was practically overpowering as the words that describe them seem to pop up all over the place. "In conclusion, majestic, action, hygiene, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, fire, magic, sensitivity, competence!" Finally, an overuse of fire images took over, forcing the screen to crash and show a blue screen saying "Whatever you did, you shouldn't have done that. Please replace computer." However, the only sounds even after all of that were the applause of the disguised bears. Chloe and Jessica tried to explain themselves. "Uh, listen. I promise that wasn't what -" "I honestly have no clue how that -" The teacher refused to listen. "You two, I think it's very apparent to me and everyone else in this classroom that you put no actual research into this project." "What?" "We really did do the research. We -" "Nothing in your report was based on any scientific fact." Then, a look of shock and guilt came over them before Grizz talked to one of the students. "Why was she so angry? That was all true." "Pardon me, Student. What did you think about that an slide? Very cool and accurate, right?" The student and the one next to him only snickered as they looked toward Jessica and Chloe, only to meet Jessica's look that said "I hope you're proud of yourself" while Chloe sniffled. That made the bears feel even worse. "I have no choice but to issue you two an incomplete. I thought you two were more mature than this please take your seats." With that, Jessica and Chloe slowly walked off the stage, until Grizz spoke up. "Wait!" This voice made them look up in shock and confusion. "Your honor, please, we have a confession to make! We are not actually the handsome rapscallions you see before you. We are, in fact..." Then, Grizz shouted for dramatic effect as he took off the disguises with difficulty. "BEARRRRRRRRS! Be-" They took a while to take off their disguises, but when they did, Grizz finally said it. "Bears." Then, Ice Bear stood still as the blue jacket fell off of him. The crowd gasped as they walked toward Chloe and Jessica. "We're Chloe and Jessica's friends, and we, excuse me, are also, sorry, the ones who wrote that report!" Jessica glared at them as they walked to them, but Grizz explained everything nonetheless. "They really did do research. We just wanted to make it more exciting." Jessica, despite being made innocent, snapped at them. "And look where that got us! Thanks to you, our grades have been shot! Some friends you are." Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear have never felt so bad. If they felt any worse, they might as well be sick. "We're really sorry, guys." "I'm sorry, too. We were such fools." "Ice Bear feels shame." "It's not me you should apologize to. Chloe's suffered more from your actions than me. And nothing is going to fix that." Of course, that's not the way it'd work today, as a person in the crowd spoke up. "Pardon me. Um, now that you guys are up there, would you mind telling me whether it's true that Bears have horrible dental hygiene?" Then, two more students asked away. "I also wanted to know. Is there an evolutionary benefit for bears having such big behinds?" "Are bears dogs?" Grizz felt embarrassed to say, except for Jessica who grinned. "Except one." "Um, those are some very nice, uh, revealing questions you got there. Um, I don't know if we..." Then, Jessica snapped Grizz out of his stupor. "Grizz. This is your chance to fix this. And I'm not going to give up on you." "But I thought you didn't want to be friends?" "I never said that. Besides, you've got to do this. For Chloe's sake." Chloe looked up to Grizz, who has now had his confidence restored. "Alright, let's do this! One, were not dogs. B, our butts look awesome. And C, my dentist says my teeth are getting better. keep those questions coming! We're answering all of them!" Then, the whole crowd raised their hands in response as overlapping chatter ensued. Jessica turned to Grizz and smiled.

After two whole hours of answering their questions, the University had already started to go home. A few of the students praised Chloe and Jessica as they walked out. "Good job in there." "Yeah! It was great!" Chloe and Jessica took a look at their report and noticed an A with a mark "well done!" and a smiley face. Chloe hugged the paper tightly as Jessica smiled at her. Then, Grizz got their attention. "Hey, guys. We're gonna watch this new TV show back at our place. You wanna come?" Jessica agreed to it while Chloe was hesitant. "Sure. I'm down. What about you, Chloe?" "I don't know, you guys. I have another test to study for." "Aw." Jessica then asked her another question. "How long until that test?" "About three weeks." Then, Chloe got the host of what Jessica meant and knew that she'd have plenty of time to study. "Oh, alright, then." "Yay!" "I knew you'd come around." "Also, bring more gummies!" "Ice Bear will share his secrets. About other bears mostly."

Back at the cave, Grizz, Panda, Ice Bear, Jessica, and Chloe were watching TV as the bears are the gummies. When the TV made a distinct sound that was meant to be a punchline, Grizz laughed before eating the gummies again. Then, Chloe went back to her notepad with Jessica noticing and shrugging her shoulders smiling.


	5. Panda's Date

**Chapter 5: "Panda's Date"**

It began at the farmer's market, where Jessica found the bears getting free samples. "Hey, Grizz, don't you think we've had enough samples for one day?" Grizz turned to Panda and spoke with a mouthful of sticks from the free samples. "I don't know what you're talking about." Then, Jessica responded to Grizz. "You know there is such a thing as too much of a good thing." The Bears turned to see Jessica in her green short-sleeved shirt and black shorts. Grizz spoke with his mouth full. "Hi, Jessica!" Jessica felt that manners needed to be acknowledged. "Uh, I wouldn't talk with my mouth full." Grizz, having realized his mistake, spat out the sticks. "Sorry. I was saying 'hi'." "Yeah, I got the message." Panda began to blush before speaking to her. "So, uh, what are you doing?" "Oh, I just came here to pick up some groceries. It is discount season. And sample season by the looks of it." Speaking of samples, Grizz noticed a free pot of Chili available. "Ooh! Is that chili?" Ice Bear saw an opportunity for a certain event between Jessica and Panda. "Ice Bear will get more samples." Then, he walked to another isle with a sort of smile on his face. Jessica then began to blush. "Well, I guess it's just... you and me." Panda laughed nervously at the situation, not quite sure how to handle it. "Yeah." Just then, a grocer in charge of free samples walked in between Jessica and Panda. "Free cookies. A sample for you." Jessica and Panda tried to refuse politely. "No, thank you sir." "Um, I'm kind of full." Nevertheless, he persisted. "Please. Come on. I'm gonna start taking this personally if you don't try it." Jessica was getting annoyed. _'Geez! Can't this guy take a hint?!'_ Finally, Jessica and Panda agreed to it. "Okay, okay, okay. Geez." "Look. I'm eating it." Panda and Jessica are the cookies and grew pleased. "Actually, that was pretty good." "Yeah, Panda. I agree." "What's that nutty flavor?" "That would be all the peanuts, cashews, walnuts, and macadamia nuts that are in there, courtesy of the Nut Shack. Susie made them." He then turned to wave to Susie. "Hi, Susie." "Hey." Then, Panda and Jessica's eyes widened in terror as they spoke in sync. "Peanuts?!" "Peanuts. Yep. That's what I said." "Oh, no! I should've told you! Panda's horribly allergic to peanuts!" The instant those words left her mouth, Panda fell to the floor. "Oh, my gosh!" It didn't take long for the bears to find out, as it seemed to attract a lot of attention. "Huh? Cookies?" When Grizz turned to the scene, he saw Panda on the floor. "Oh, no. Pan-Pan! Man down! Man down!" The grocer tried to apologize as the bears ran over to them. "I'm so sorry about this, ma'am!" "It's okay. You were just doing your job." Jessica then cradled Panda in her arms. "Panda, speak to me!" Panda replied back in a weak tone. "Regrets..." "Oh, no. Hang in there!" Grizz was willing to try anything to help him, even if that was the wrong solution, unfortunately. "Quickly. We've got to cancel it out with other food." Jessica knew better about this situation. "No. That would make the reaction worse." Jessica called out to the crowd, in hopes of finding someone who can help. "Does anyone have an allergy shot?!" Then, a familiar voice responded to Jessica. "Hang on! I'm coming!" Jessica turned to the source of the voice and noticed her old friend. "Lucy?!" Then, Lucy charged to the scene and jumped above Ice Bear's head, mostly due to the fact that he's crouched. Then, she slid on the ground, held Panda up and gave him a shot, earning his gasp. Then, Panda looked up as Lucy seemed to soothe him. "Hey. Hey, are you okay?" Jessica noticed a lovestruck face on Panda, earning her giggles. "I think he really likes you." Then, Lucy looked up to see Jessica smiling. "I can imagine why." Just then, water splashed on Panda, due to Grizz dumping it on him, unaware that his pain was over. "Wake up, little bro! Not like this! Speak to me!" Jessica put herself in between Grizz and Panda. "Calm down, Grizz. He's fine now." Grizz felt relieved and patted Panda on the back. "Oh, there he is!" Jessica took the opportunity to get acquainted. "Bears, I want you to meet Lucy. Lucy, I want you to meet the Bears." Then, the three of them greeted each other while Panda looked longingly at Lucy. "Hi." "Lucy." Grizz felt that gratefulness was called for. "Lucy, awesome. Thank you so much. You saved our little baby." Jessica felt peeved, considering he's nowhere near the size of a baby. _'He's a grown bear. And if he's gonna be anyone's baby, he's gonna be mine. And don't you forget it.'_ That actually gave Jessica an idea of her own. "Go ahead and say thank you, Pan-Pan." Panda was too lovestruck to come up with words. "Ba-Ba..." Jessica took advantage of the lapse and used her fingers to move his mouth and spoke in a semi-manly voice. "Thank you so much, Lucy. You are so cool." This made, Jessica and Lucy laugh, causing Panda to snap back to reality as Lucy replied. "You're welcome." Grizz wanted to know something. "How did you know what to do?" "Oh, my little brother has allergies, too. So I always carry a shot around, just in case." Panda wanted to know something. "So, how do you two know each other?" "We actually go way back, Panda." Jessica pulled up a photo of herself and Lucy as 9-year-olds, the both of them smiling and photo-bombing each other. "We used to play a lot together back in New York, but then they had to move. And then, ten years later, so did we." Panda thought he figured her out. "So that's why you came to San Francisco." Jessica knew he was partially in the right. "Among other things. My Mom also got a promotion that paid more in cash." "Wow. Good for you." "Thanks." Then, Lucy made sure they were aware that she had work to get back to. "Well, I've got to go pack up my stall for now, but it was great to meet you guys." Jessica smiled back. "Well, the feeling's mutual." Then, Grizz came and brought up an idea of his own. "Oh, hey, we're gonna go throw rocks in the lake if you want to come." Lucy thought back to the last time she did that, which was with Jessica of course, and felt it would be nice to do so again. "Oh, yeah, for sure. I haven't thrown rocks in forever." This made Panda's face beam like a puppy getting his bacon. Jessica noticed that look and grinned. "Okay, let me pack up my truck and wrap up a few things." "Would it be cool if I help you out?" "Sure. I could always use the extra hand." As Jessica and Lucy walked away, Panda replied to them. "Um, um, okay, good night!" Jessica and Lucy looked back to Panda as Jessica smiled while Lucy laughed nervously. Jessica noticed that and explained. "Don't worry, Lucy, Panda's a good guy. He's just learning how to talk to girls." "Really? He seemed to be doing that just fine with you." "Well, you know what I mean."

As Jessica and Lucy were packing they decided to catch up. "So, what's new, Produce Lucy?" "Well, after we moved, I found a summer job in selling produce. I thought it was boring at first, but it was actually really fun." "Well, what made it so fun?" "For starters, the free samples." "You mean you got to try them all the time?" "No, not really. It was because I got to meet so many people. Since then, I've decided to run a full-time business." Jessica was puzzled as she put the tomatoes in a plastic bag. "Just a thought, but is that all you've done?" "No. I was also taught how to babysit and I got a younger brother named Clifford." "Nice! I've got a younger brother, too. But he's called Sam." "You think we should have a play date?" "Your word, Lucy, not mine." Then, Jessica and Lucy successfully put the crates of produce into the back of the truck. "Okay, that's about everything."

Then, as they took off, Lucy realized she didn't get around to her yet. "So, anything new with you?" "Well, after you left, I was kind of a bit sad. Like I lost a part of me. But, honestly, I moved on, because I knew we'd see each other again. Also, my dad went M.I.A. in the family after I turned ten. Other than that, nothing much." "Oh. Sorry I asked, Jessica." "No, that's okay. You needed to know. But after we moved, I met the bears and stopped a Pigeon Cartel." "Oh, yeah. I saw that. I thought you weren't the type to be involved." "Well, fate had other plans. Anyway, the bears don't always understand people's needs or rules. That's why I stick by their side. If I don't become their friend, who would? You know what I'm saying?" "Yeah. That would make sense." Then, Jessica started to blush at the thought of Panda again. "And, if we're being honest, I... think I have a crush." Lucy became so excited she _almost_ lost control of the road. "Really? With who?" Jessica nervously tried to answer. "Uh... it's with, uh... Panda." Lucy was confused about why it was him, but given the fact that Jessica was more used to him than she was, she rolled with it. "How did that happen?" "I don't know. I-I guess it was when I got a police escort back home. The way he stood up for me and stood by my side... it was... selfless." Lucy was happy that she had a friend like him. "Well, you must have great taste in friends." "Yeah, but... with him? I... I want to be more than his friend." "So, you should go tell him. I'll try to stay out of your way until then." "Really? Oh, thank you, Lucy. What did I do to deserve a friend like you?" "Well, your carefree attitude might have something to do with it." Then, Jessica smiled at Lucy as they stopped by the cave. Jessica smiled to herself. _'This'll be perfect.'_

At the road, Lucy was driving everyone to the lake with a seating order from left to right of Ice Bear, Grizz, Jessica, Panda, and Lucy. The third and fourth passengers in the truck looked to the left and smiled, unaware of each other's goals.

 _Just one look_

 _And I can never forget you_

Lucy tossed a giant rock far in the lake and ran over to the Bears, one of which that is black and white and has decided to try. "My turn! Watch me!"

 _And now I've got a tattoo of you on my heart_

Panda tried lifting up the rock, only to find it extremely difficult. Alas, it wasn't so for Grizz and Ice Bear as they had a giant rock and a bundle of big rocks on their heads. Then, Jessica helped lift up Panda's rock and saw each other's faces. "I've got you, Pan-Pan." Then, the both of them tossed the rock into the lake and cheered as Lucy applauded. "Whoo-hoo!" Panda initially grumbled until Jessica bumped her elbow on Panda's arm, earning his blushed face.

 _It's beating and I wonder_

At the lake, Panda and Lucy ran to a swan boat in their life jackets. Panda jumped in first and offered a hand for Lucy to jump in when Grizz and Ice Bear jumped on him. "No, no, no, no!" When they did, They brought the boat down. After arriving at the lake, Jessica then dived into the lake and removed the excess weight on the boat underwater and made it so that she and Panda shared a boat.

 _If you shine your light_

Lucy was paddling in the boat with Grizz as Jessica paddled with Panda, although he still kept an eye on Lucy.

 _No, oh, oh, oh_

 _I think I'm ready to say_

 _I want to be your du-du-dude_

Later, Grizz, Lucy, and Ice Bear rolled down the hill of grass first. At the end of it, Lucy called out to them. "Come down!" Panda noticed her and saw an opportunity. "Huh?" Panda took some flowers and tried to roll down, but ended up rolling to the side, falling down the hill, and crashing into the bushes. Jessica noticed this and repeated Panda's blunder, only more gracefully.

 _Today, tomorrow, and forever I'll be your friend_

When Panda looked at her, Jessica got flowers in her mouth, causing him to laugh a bit.

 _Catch, catch a can of pop_

 _Finally found a million dollars_

At the park, Jessica and Panda were brushing each other off, only for them to notice that Lucy was about to take a picture.

 _Then I lost about a dollar._

Panda and Jessica ran over to Lucy and the bears, only for the camera to be just short of Panda and Jessica as they came as a blur and were edited out. After noticing that, Jessica got out her phone and took a selfie with Panda as the two of them smiled.

 _But who cares?_

 _Now I'm super rich_

 _Oh, oh, oh, oh_

At the merry-go-round, Panda got on a horse and dusted off the horse next to him to make room.

 _Be lucky like a little beetle_

 _Resting on your shoulder_

To his surprise, a kid got on it, instead. Meanwhile, it turned out Lucy was riding on Ice Bear, acting as a horse. Then, Jessica sat on the same horse as Panda, causing him to blush as soon as she hugged him tightly before he smiled.

 _Got me thinking that I, I, I, I_

At another area of the park, Lucy and Grizz were running around the many tall stone shapes in the grass before they tried to invite Panda. "Come on, man." Panda just waved them off before Jessica grabbed Panda by his paw and set him in an area to count for Hide and Seek. At the same time, Ice Bear bumped into Grizz and the other three started ran around. When Panda was done counting, he looked for Jessica, only to find her on top of a stone shape and jumping onto him, earning his yelp of surprise. When they got down on the grass, the both of them laughed to their hearts' content.

 _I think I want to say_

 _I want to be your du-du-du-dude today_

Back at the truck, Lucy, Grizz, and Ice Bear were singing in the truck. The only ones who weren't were Panda and Jessica, who were being squished by Ice Bear. Panda then switched seats with Jessica as their seat belts were intact so that he could take the hit for Jessica, making her smile as she laid on him too.

 _Tomorrow, and forever_

 _Du-du-dude_

After the trip, Panda was smiling at Jessica who stayed in the truck. Grizz wanted to thank her for the courtesy of getting a ride back home. "Hey, thanks for the ride, Lucy." "Oh, of course." Jessica then replied to him. "I just wish that moment could've lasted forever." Panda couldn't agree more. "Yeah. Me too." That gave Lucy an idea. "Uh, hey, what are you guys doing for dinner?" Grizz didn't have any plans with that today. "Uh, I don't know, actually." Jessica knew that question was meant for her. "Well, my Mom's making some Chicken Sandwiches. Why do you ask?" "Well, there's this new restaurant on 45th and Spruce." To prove it, she got out a map that pointed to its precise location. Then, she got out a piece of paper from the truck's compartment as well as a pencil to write it down. "Here. Let me write it down for you. It's a French Italian fusion-y thing." Jessica and Panda's eyes widened at the thought. Before long, the both of them burst out their words in sync again. "I would like to eat there!" Then, they covered their mouths in embarrassment before Grizz and Ice Bear replied back. "Yes, I would eat that." "Ice Bear enjoys fine cuisine." Lucy was happy that they all said yes. "Great. So, it's a date." Jessica wanted to know what type of date it's going to be. "Just so we're clear, it is going to be a group date, right?" Lucy and Grizz agreed. "Of course." "Yep. All five of us." "Ice Bear requires booster seat." Then, Lucy gave the paper to Grizz. "Thanks. Today's been so fun. And to think - the whole reason we met..." Then, Grizz walked up to Panda and hugged him tightly as he spoke in baby-talk. "is 'cause my little bro is a swollen bundle of allergies." Jessica felt a bit embarrassed at the way Grizz was treating Panda, even if he wasn't trying to make fun of him. "Um, Grizz, you can stop now." Grizz noticed Jessica's tone and stopped. "Oh, sorry." Panda smiled at Jessica as Lucy laughed. "Aw, you guys are the cutest! See you soon." As they drove off, Jessica called out to Panda. "See you at dinner!" Once they have gotten far enough, Jessica turned to Lucy. "Uh, Lucy?" "Yeah?" "Thank you, for making this possible." "Well, the date's not over yet." "I know. I've got to make this count." Jessica smiled as they drove to the city.

When Jessica got home, she was all the more eager to reintroduce an old friend. "Mom, you'll never guess who I bumped into today." Patricia looked up from her phone to see Lucy standing next to her. Patricia grew surprised as well as elated. "Why, Lucy! It's been a long time, hasn't it?" "Yep. Sure has, Ms. Bailey." "Please, call me Pat. You've earned it." Sam went downstairs and saw Jessica. "Jessie!" Sam immediately hugged his older sister and noticed Lucy. "Who is she?" "Well, she's my old friend from ten years ago. You know, she has a little brother, too." Sam grew excited to have a new friend to play with. "Really? What's he like?" "Well, why don't you ask her yourself?" Sam turned to Lucy, who smiled at the little toddler. "Hi, Lucy. What's your brother like?" As Lucy took the time to answer his question, Jessica asked Patricia about a certain dress that's right for them. "Hey, Mom. You wouldn't happen to have any dress we could wear, do you?" "Of course, but why?" Then, Patricia's eyes widened and smiled. "Oh, I see. You're on a date, aren't you?" Jessica shouldn't be so surprised. Basically, she's got eyes on the back of her head. "Why do I even bother asking anymore?" "It is a group date, right?" "Well, yeah. We agreed to it." Patricia then went upstairs as she called them up. "Girls, follow me."

In her room, Patricia was having a look through her closet to look at the dresses that would suit them. "Lucy, what would be your favorite color?" "Uh, blue." Patricia went through the closet and found a blue dress with just the right length and waist for a girl her age. Then, she turned to Jessica. "And, Jessica, I already know what you like." Then, Patricia got out a red dress similar to Lucy's. Patricia was holding her hands in anticipation. "So, what do you think?" Jessica and Lucy looked at each other before smiling and turning back to Patricia. "We like them very much, Mom." "Yeah. It really makes me look beautiful." Felling like a girl in a candy store, Patricia gave herself a fist pump. "I still got it."

Then, Jessica and Lucy were about to leave as Patricia gave her daughter instructions. "Now, listen, if anything goes wrong, call 911 first, and then me to let me know, okay?" "Got it, Mom." Then, Jessica hugged Patricia as she started crying tears of joy. "Oh, my little girl's growing up." Jessica wiped her mother's tears away. "Aw, Mom. Even when I grow up, I'll still be your little girl." Then, mother and daughter smiled at each other before the daughter took off with Lucy. "Well, got to go, Mom." When she got in the truck, Patricia called out one more time. "Have fun on your date!" "Thank you, Mom!" With that, the truck drove off into the streets. Then, Sam came out the door and looked at his mother. "What's a date?"

At the new restaurant, Lucy and Jessica looked around for the bears, but they didn't seem to have shown. "Oh, where are they?" Just then, Jessica's anxiety started to kick in. "Oh, no. Lucy, I can't do this. What if Panda doesn't show? What if he stood me up?! What if I choke the words out just trying to say them?!" Lucy put her hands on her shoulders and shook her to calm Jessica down. "Calm down, Jessica. Panda will show. I'm sure he will." Fortunately, Lucy was proven right as she saw Panda walking in. "Panda! Over here! Panda!" Panda looked toward Jessica and Lucy, and noticed his two favorite women in the blue and red dresses, causing him to gain a lovestruck look. When Jessica got the look too, Lucy tried to snap them out of it. "Hey, guys. Guys." "Huh?" "Wha?" "I'm right here." Jessica was brought back to reality, thanks to Lucy. "Oh. Sorry. Must've gotten in the zone. By the way, where's your brothers?" Suddenly, Panda burst the words out without thinking. "They're sick! With vomit!" This earned a confused look from Jessica. "Huh?" "Um, they're not feeling great." Lucy and Jessica were concerned about their health. "Are they okay?" "Should we go check on them?" Panda tried to steer them away from it. "No! No! No! Contagious. Upchucking everywhere. The walls, the carpet - Oh, boy." Jessica felt there was more to the story, but before she could question him, Panda spoke again. "Okay. Let's eat." Both Jessica and Lucy couldn't deny he's acting strange. "Did you notice that?" "Yeah. It's almost like..." Then, Jessica got the full gist of what really went down. She figured out that he somehow either convinced them to stay behind or made them stay behind so that he could have some time alone with them. "Oh, I get it now. I've got you figured out, Pan-Pan." Then, Panda got two roses, one for each women. "For you." Lucy turned to Jessica as they went to their table. "So, when are you gonna tell him?" "I-I don't know. What if I mess this up?" "Trust me, you won't. It'll be just fine."

At the table, Lucy noticed that Panda had a look of great concern, though the smile would tell you otherwise. "Is everything all right?" Jessica noticed the look and grew worried as well. "Yeah. Are you sure you you're not sick, too?" Panda responded as casually as he could. "Nope. All good here. No vomit on me. Ha, ha, ha, ha." Jessica and Lucy both laughed nervously before the waitress spoke. "Are you three ready to order?" Panda tried to be nice. "Uh... Jessica, why don't you go first?" Jessica blushed and looked at the menu. "Oh, sure. Uh, just give me a second." As she looked through the menu, she noticed a certain dish that caught her eye: the Lasagna Fritta. It was an Italian dish that made her smile. Hopefully, it'd help give her the courage to tell him, since it was basically her comfort food. But before she could order it, Panda pulled the menu up on the table while Jessica held onto it. "You know, I've heard it's best to fully immerse yourself in your menu like this." Panda placed his face down on the table with his face in the menu. _'Poor thing. He's so embarrassed, he can't talk straight to me. Maybe I'll just play along.'_ Jessica and Lucy then put their faces really close to the menu before the waiter spoke again. "You guys need a minute?" Lucy was wondering how long they should do so. "Uh, how long do we immerse ourselves?" Fortunately it wasn't for long as Panda spoke up. "Whoo-hoo! Good menu sesh, right? I got really immersed there." Jessica replied back. "Ha! Yeah. Anyway, I'll have the Lasagna Fritta, please." Then, Lucy came next. "Mm-hmm. And you ma'am?" "I'll have the Thai noodle Salad, please." Then, it was Panda's turn. "Mm-hmm. And for you, sir?" Panda just replied with a dead smile on his face. "Egg." The waitress seemed to get the gist. "Frittata it is, then." With that, the waitress wrote down the orders and took the menus, but had difficulty with one as Panda seemed to be clinging to it. But when the waitress went above his head with it, he let it go freely, still maintaining the dead smile. Jessica grew more worried. _'What's up with him? He's not usually like this.'_ Suddenly, he heard the door swish open and saw Grizz and Ice Bear with Lucy and Jessica oblivious to it. He needed to keep it that way for who knows how long. "Hey! You know what I really like? Moving tables into dark corners." Jessica was able to rescue her rose before it fell off the table. Then, Lucy and Jessica followed Panda, bringing their seats with them. "Panda, wait." "Yeah, wait up." Then, Panda set the table in a corner and set the plants around it. "Uh, so, do you do this every time you eat out or..." Before Lucy could finish the question, Panda inadvertently put the plant too close to her, causing her to sputter. Jessica tried to get more answers. "Panda, is there a reason why you're doing this?" Then, Panda took Lucy and Jessica's hands as he went around the whole restaurant. "Wow! Look at that table over there!" Then, they saw the waitress as they walked by her. "Oh, there you guys are. I have your ord-" Panda replied to the waitress without paying any attention. "Thank you." Panda looked around and found a new spot. "Uh... Here." He then dragged Jessica and Lucy swiftly. "Aah!" "Whoa!" Then, Panda just got to another table. "Oop. Mind if we squeeze in here?" Then, Panda, Lucy, and Jessica found themselves sitting at a gathering. "Oh, is this a birthday? Congratulations." Panda clapped his hands and laughed nervously before Jessica inquired of him. "Uh, Panda, do you even know these people?" Suddenly, Panda put his paws on Jessica and Lucy, putting them under the table. "Whoa! What's under here?" "Oop!" "Hey!" After a certain time, Panda sighed before Jessica spoke up. "Um, Panda?" Panda turned to the women and tried to speak as if none of the events that happened here ever did. "Oh, hey guys, what's up?" Lucy, for one, has had enough. "What's up? What - what do you mean? We-we're hiding under a table." "What? No. We're not hiding. It's just... atmospheric down here." "Atmospheric? Panda, you've been dragging us around all evening." Jessica tried to stay on the bright side. "Well, we did get a good workout." However, Lucy was adamant in her decision, hasty though it may be. "I'm not really hungry anymore. Maybe we should just call it a night." Panda only spoke up in concern as a reaction. "No, no, no. Don't go! We're having a great time. Everything's going perfectly. It's only gonna get more-" Just then, the waitress arrived. "Oh, there you guys are. I have your-" Then, Panda took the salad. "See! More fun!" Then, Panda began to eat the salad and muffled. "Mmm! Delicious!" Lucy gave out a detail about her meal. "Panda, I think that was my order." Both Panda and Jessica grew concerned at the same time. "Huh?" "Oh, no. Don't tell me..." "It had peanuts in it." Suddenly, after a moment of silence, Panda flipped the table in a panic and grew worse as he flopped about. Jessica looked toward Lucy. "Lucy, you have that shot, right?!" "Yeah." Without hesitation, Lucy got out her shot and passed it to Jessica. "Be careful." "Done deal." With that, Jessica leaped on top of the seemingly rampaging Panda and gave him the much-needed shot, earning his gasp as he fell down on his back and slowed his flops of a fish. Then, Panda started growing dizzy from the overconsumption of the peanuts from the salad. Jessica rubbed her hand on his forehead as Panda slipped into sleep. "It's okay, Panda. You're okay."

After the chaos, Jessica called 911 and then her mother, letting her know what happened. Naturally, Patricia wanted to pick her daughter up right away, but she chose to stay with Panda and see through to his recovery. As she waited in the hospital room, watching over Panda with Grizz and Ice Bear, she noticed Lucy walking in with a box. "Hey, Jessica." "Hey, Lucy." "So, how's it going?" "Well, the doctor said he's getting better, but we're still worried." "Well, can you make sure he knows about the leftover food? I still feel bad that it had to happen the way it did." "Yeah. Sure thing." "I wish I could stay, but I've got work to do." "Don't worry. I'll let you know if anything happens, Lucy. See you later." Then, Lucy went out of the room as Jessica set the box of food on the table by the hospital bed and went up close to Panda. After looking closely at him, she knew that she had n one to blame but herself. True, the peanuts may have caused him to get stuck in a hospital, but despite that, she truly felt that she was the one to blame. If she'd simply told Panda how she felt about him, maybe he wouldn't have been acting so weird that he gave himself peanuts all over again. Jessica began to tear up and hug Panda as she struggled to maintain her voice. "Oh, Panda. If only I told you sooner, this wouldn't have happened. It's... it's all... my fault..." Jessica then began to cry softly into Panda's fur as the bears felt bad for Jessica to feel that way and tried to cheer her up. "Hey, hey, hey, don't beat yourself up. You were just nervous. It happens all the time." "Ice Bear never gets nervous... except socially." Jessica had every right to disagree as she wiped her tears away. "I appreciate the feedback, you guys, but it's true." Jessica then resumed her soft crying over Panda's frame. "It really is my fault." Then, she felt an arm place itself on her back. "It's... it's not your fault, Jessica." Jessica stopped her crying to see Panda smiling at her. "Panda?" Jessica only hugged him tighter, but not enough to hurt him, as she was mindful of his sensitivities, even in her desperate need of comfort. "Don't ever do that to me again." Panda still couldn't recall what happened at the restaurant. "Huh? What - what happened?" Grizz vied to explain what had happened. "Oh, man. It wasn't pretty. You had a major allergic reaction. You were flopping all over. You flipped the table. There was food everywhere. Am I missing anything?" Ice Bear gave out a detail that was not necessarily true. "Vomit." "Oh, yeah. Lots of vomit." "He didn't vomit, you guys. He probably would have if I didn't give him that shot." Panda began to feel bad all the same for the trouble he seemed to have caused. "Ugh. Oh, no! What about Lucy?" Grizz explained further. "She was here earlier but she had to leave. She left you something though. She says you didn't get the chance to eat, so she saved your dish for you." Panda reached for the box and saw a note on it that said, "Feel better, Panda!" with a chubby smiley face. Panda smiled at her note until he noticed that Jessica had gotten into the zone again and checked on her. "Are you doing okay?" "Kind of. But, if I'm being honest, I can't help but feel that I've put you in that bed. If I'd just told you sooner..." Panda had a feeling he knew what that meant. "Wait, so you... like me?" Jessica blushed before closing her eyes and admitting the truth. "Yes. I wanted to tell you before, but I was just so nervous. And you kept moving us everywhere, but that wasn't a knock on you, Panda. That knock was on me. If you'd known, you wouldn't have acted the way you did." Panda tried to make her feel better about herself. "No, Jessica. It was bound to happen either way. It's just... I thought you and Lucy... and then I... ugh! I'm so dumb." Grizz figured out what he's trying to say himself. "Wait, did you... like them?" Panda tried to answer as best he could. "Yes. I mean, no! I mean... I don't know anymore. When we went to the lake, I was trying to win over Lucy, but Jessica was always there for me whenever she could be, and... and then I lost track of who I really want to be with." Jessica smiled at the perplexed bear. "Oh, Panda." "Dude, you should've just told us! We would have totally gotten out of your way." "Ice Bear would've been less charming." Panda felt that they didn't need to do so. "It's cool, you guys. I'm just a little embarrassed, I guess." Grizz, Ice Bear, and Jessica then proceeded to hug him. "Don't be. We're always here for you, man." Jessica was more than happy to pitch in. "Especially me." Grizz felt that Panda would be successful with one of them. "You probably didn't have a chance with Lucy, though." "Huh?" Jessica fist pumped herself as she grunted in joy, causing everyone to look at her funny. "Oh, I mean, I'm so sorry for your loss, Panda." Jessica then smiled to herself as she went back to hugging Panda. _'Saved it.'_

 **A/N: Thanks for the idea of having Lucy as a childhood friend. A stroke of genius, I must say. And it's only fair to warn you that I may or may not be able to finish and/or upload the stories over the course of Winter Break. But I'll continue to work on them whenever I can. Also, there's going to be a special bond between Jessica and Charlie, which will explain itself in the episode of the same name. I'll also let you in on an Easter Egg in the last chapter. Patricia may actually be keeping an eye on Jessica without her knowing. And whenever I find some room, I'll even give details about her father. I'll be doing the episodes chronologically, so that way you know what would come up next. By the way, I just realized I forgot to put in some legend for the way they interact, so I'll reciprocate that. Talking: "Hello." Thinking: _'Hello.'_ Song: _Hello._ Hope that cleared things up. See you then! :)**


	6. Everyday Bears

**Chapter 6: "Everyday Bears"**

The next week after that, Jessica decided to give the bears a little bit of time off to recover from the chaos at the restaurant. Though there was one little problem: she didn't know who else to hang out with. She could try to hang out with Keith, but then, Panda would somehow find out and tell the both of them off, and she put Panda through enough stress already. She could try Lucy, but with her working all the time, she could rarely get any time with her. Then, she thought about Chloe, but she might end up becoming a bit of a distraction to her, risking her chances of getting an A. A risk she didn't want to take. Patricia noticed her stupor and tried to snap her out of it. "Jessica, honey?" Jessica looked up from the sofa to see her mother in her dark blue bathrobe "Yeah, Mom?" "What are you still doing here? I thought you were going to be with the Bears." "I'm giving them a bit of a break this week." Patricia grew happy at this. "Yes!" Unfortunately, Jessica noticed as she cleared her throat. "Oh, I mean, why? You always loved hanging out with them." "I still do, Mom. I just think they still need the time to recover from that whole allergy fiasco. Meanwhile, I still don't know who I could hang out with." Patricia didn't know what to tell her if she's already considered Keith, Lucy, and Chloe. "Well, I guess you're back at Square One." That gave Jessica an idea. "Square One. That's it! I'll meet at the Basketball court and make some friends with whoever's there!" Jessica hugged her mother to make sure her role wasn't unnoticed. "Thanks for the idea, Mom." "Sure thing. Just make sure to look both ways when crossing the street." Jessica nodded back to her. "Sure thing, Mom."

At the court, Jessica kept an eye out as she scoped for potential new friends. At least, until she was called out. "Who's got next game?" "It's me!" Jessica was passed the ball by a guy with a red shirt and jean shorts. "Hey, there, champ." "Champ?" That caught Jessica off-guard completely. Had her popularity and status as a Basketball champion caught on that fast? "Yeah. You actually gave my friends a bit of a run for their money. Wanna take me on?" Jessica smiled back at him. "Sure thing. Wanna do one-on-one?" "No sweat. My name's Ryan." "I'm Jessica." "Nice to meet you. Now, what do you say we play ball?" "Oh, you're on!" So, Jessica and Ryan began their game. At the end, they were evenly matched with a score of 16-16. However, the both of them were very tired. "Whew. I guess... they don't call you... a champ for nothing." "Yeah. You were pretty... tough, too..." As soon as the both of them caught their breath, Ryan made a proposition. "You know, we could use someone like you for Frisbee Toss." Jessica grew confused. Does he have more friends? "Wait, we?" "Yeah. They're over by the woods exploring for a bit. I was supposed to meet them there at 11:00. Wanna come with?" Jessica found herself in a dilemma. She wanted to go and make new friends, but she also didn't want to stress the bears out. Although, she didn't seem to be hanging out with Keith. But what if Keith was one of them? She was left with no choice but to cross the bridge when it comes to it. After all, the more the merrier. "Sure. I could hang out." "Great! See you there!" "You mean I'll see you there." Immediately she and Ryan ran to the forest in a race.

When they got there, it was a tie, much to the dissatisfaction of both opponents. "Dang it!" "How are we tied at this?!" However, they just laughed it off, as if it was a happy coincidence. There, they met a guy with a short-sleeved green shirt and green shorts as well as a guy with a blue cap on backwards, a blue shirt, and long blue pants. Ryan motioned to the guy with the blue cap first before motioning to the guy in a green shirt and shorts. "Jessica, this is Kevin and Tony. Kevin and Tony, this is Jessica." "Hey, guys." Kevin and Tony were surprised that the basketball champion was joining in. "Whoa! You're the Basketball champ from New York? You must've been really lucky to come here!" Jessica began to blush, though not as much as Panda usually makes her. "Oh, you guys." Ryan wanted to get to know her more. "So, have you had any other friends before today?" "Well, yes. Let's just say they know how to party like animals." Then, Kevin wanted to cut to the chase out of eagerness. "I wonder how good you are at Frisbee Toss." Jessica smiled triumphantly. "Well, I might not look it, but I have played it before." Kevin got out a white frisbee from his blue backpack. "Then let's get started."

After they did, Jessica had a long streak of 20 catches in a row, as well as her new friends that never seemed to drop it. Just how skilled were they? As she pondered this, Ryan tossed her the frisbee, putting her focus back on having fun. Then she tossed the frisbee toward Kevin, who then tossed it to Tony, who happened to bump into a certain bear while doing so. "Sweet catch, bro!" That instantly caught Jessica's attention. _'Grizz? What's he doing here? Oh, right. It's the forest. Of course, he's going to be here.'_ "Hey, Grizz. What's up?" "Hey, Jessica." Tony was confused. "Wait, he's your friend?" "Yeah. He was there in my first Basketball game in California, and a couple of others too." Ryan wanted to be kept up to date. "Are they bears too?" "Well, yeah. But not all of my friends are Bears. Promise." Then, it was Grizz's turn to speak up. "So, you guys playing a game?" Tony was a bit nervous, though he still answered. "Um, yeah?" "Hey, you guys got room for one more player?" "Uh, sorry man. We've already got like four, so... no?" Jessica honestly didn't see any problem with having a fifth. But she also remembered that she was giving them a bit of a break. "Sorry, Grizz. Looks like you're out for today." "Hey, no sweat. I'll just pop a squat here and watch." Grizz backed up to a tree and sat by it whilst crossing his legs. "Don't mind me. Carry on." "Uh, okay, then." After a moment, everyone got back to the game. But as soon as Tony tossed the frisbee, Grizz cheered. "Whoo! Nice form, bro!" Jessica felt a bit embarrassed by this. _'Great. Our own audience.'_

As time went on however, Grizz's spectating was actually what made her so excited. Grizz was basically the crowd, and it was the cheer of the crowd that made her full of adrenaline. "Hey, good one!" "Thanks, Grizz!" As Jessica was getting pumped up, so were her new friends. So much so, that in all the excitement, Ryan tossed his disc too fast, hitting Jessica in her chest. "Oof!" Instead of retaliating, Jessica was actually enjoying that because of the adrenaline. "Good one!" "Careful with the hands!" As Grizz laughed, Ryan smiled back. "I'll keep it in mind." It was then that Jessica wanted to test a certain upbeat bear. "Hey, guys. What do you say we take a break and play Catch? I'm sure he can make it more exciting." In spite of the fact that he was a bear, Grizz has actually grown on them. So of course they were more than willing to give it a try. "Sure." "I'm in." "Yeah." As they played catch, Jessica's hypothesis on enthusiasm was proven correct. "Nice hustle! Oh! Good one! Yeah, you guys are on fire!" However, when Jessica was given the frisbee, she ended up swinging it into the tree behind him as it went up into the leaves. Kevin wasn't happy about that on the least. "Aw, great." Jessica felt embarrassed about the frisbee. "Sorry, guys. I guess I got too hyped to focus." Kevin was still stuck on the matter of what to do next. "Now what are we gonna do?" As an answer, Grizz climbed on the tree catching their attention. "Hold tight, amigos! I got it!" Jessica tried to dissuade him from doing so. "Grizz, you don't have to do that." However, Grizz was still determined to retrieve it. "Almost got it." However, after climbing up to the same level as the frisbee, Jessica didn't see any worry and gave a sigh of relief. However, when it appeared that Grizz was about to fall off, Jessica gave a frightened gasp. However, Grizz just fell on the branch he was standing on and only inches toward the frisbee, making Jessica sigh in relief again. Grizz smiled as he successfully retrieved his spoils. "Aha! Gotcha, you sneak. Hey guys, look!" Jessica gave Grizz a thumbs up before Tony spoke up. "Way to go, Grizz!" "Cool. Just toss it down, man." "Yep! Comin' right at ya, buddy!" Grizz lost his balance for a moment, but was able to stay on the branch before he assumed throwing position. "Okay, here it comes!" Grizz chucked the frisbee towards Tony, who grew impressed when he caught it. "Nice throw!" That gave Jessica an idea. "You know, it'd be awesome to have a fifth player." Jessica succeeded in planting the idea in Tony's head as he seemed to agree with her. "Hey, why don't you play with us?" Grizz was happy (as an understatement) to hear that. "Really?! Yes. Alright, cool. I'll be right down." However, when Grizz tried to climb down, he found himself to be stuck. "Huh? Hey, what's going on?" Jessica noticed that and grew concerned. "Uh-oh. Grizz, you okay up there?" "Uh, yeah. All good up here. Just, uh, enjoying the view. Uh, you guys just go ahead. I'll wait up here a little bit longer." Jessica knew there was more to his excuse, but she wanted to give the bears a bit of a break. She felt conflicted, but eventually took Grizz for his word. "Okay. Whenever you want to join us, feel free to come down." "Yeah, okay! See you soon!"

While they played frisbee, Grizz was still stuck on the tree and had difficulty trying to get his leg free. Eventually, Jessica got tired of Grizz being stuck up on the tree. He said he was fine, but she couldn't help but feel as if he's actually in a bit of trouble and didn't want it to get worse. "Hey, Grizz! You need any help up there?" "No, Jessie. Just chillin'. Uh, hey, why not throw that thing up here?" That was a second ring to her head about Grizz's situation, making Jessica more worried. "Are you sure?" Grizz responded coolly. "Uh, yeah." Tony was confused, but went along with it. "Uh, okay." As Tony tossed it to Grizz, he tried to catch it, but ended up fumbling and dropping it. "Whoa! Almost there! Can you throw it higher?" It was then that Jessica saw through his ruse and got the gist as Tony repeated his tosses with each fall. Eventually, Grizz was able to catch it. When he did, Grizz shouted to Tony. "I got it!" "Cool. Now throw it back down." "Okay, but you better back up." When Grizz tried to toss it to him, the momentum swung him off the branch, causing him to dangle from the branch by his foot and earning a gasp from Jessica, Ryan, Kevin, and Tony. Grizz seemed to see the upside to it. "This is exactly what I wanted!" However, that didn't do anything to ease their worries. "Whoa! Are you alright?!" Suddenly, random people began to join in. "What's happening?" "Whoa. Is he in trouble?" "Is he protesting?" Jessica grew alarmed at the situation. _'Where did they come from?!'_ "Everyone, please! I'm fine! Nothing to see here! Now please go away!" Just then, the police arrived. "What's going on? Is that guy stuck?" "Not stuck!" It was then that she made up her mind. "Okay, enough's enough, Grizz! I'm getting you help whether you admit it or not!" And she did just that by dialing 911.

Over the next hour, the firefighters and the news reporter, Rebecca Turnman, arrived. "We're reporting live at the scene where a bear is seemingly stuck in a tree. This may be the most stuck bear we've seen since the 90's and he shows no signs of getting unstuck anytime soon." Grizz contradicted with her despite the situation. "I'm not stuck! Everyone, please, go home!" Then, the reporter began interviewing Jessica. "You there. Can you tell the folks at home how it started?" "Okay, well, we were just playing frisbee but when I tossed it into the tree, Grizz tried to get it for us, and then he got stuck." Grizz overheard her statement and grew annoyed. "For the last time, I'm not stuck!" Just then, a firefighter reached out for him. "Don't worry! We'll get you down! Just grab my hand, and you'll be okay!" "I said I wasn't stuck." "There's nothing to worry about!" "Go away!" Just then, Grizz, Jessica, and the firefighter turned to notice something scaring away the crowd. Evidently, it was a vacuum roomba gone rabid as it seemed to mow the grass and popped the tire of the fire truck. Suddenly, the firefighter swerved down and slid down the tree. As he ran away from the roomba, Jessica grew annoyed at the firefighter, but at the same time extremely worried for Grizz when it bumped into a rock towards the tree. "Grizz!" Instinctively, Jessica ran toward the rogue roomba and grabbed onto it as it went up the tree. "Whoa!" Thanks to its powerful suction force, she was able to go up along with it. When it got to the tree branch, it stopped, allowing Jessica to grab onto the branch before it went around the tree and jumped onto it as well, headed towards Grizz. "Oh, no!" As Grizz panicked, he tried to extricate his leg from the branch, only for the roomba to shave his trapped foot clean where he was trapped. However, in spite of the pain that followed shortly after, it actually solved the problem. Jessica climbed on the branch like a monkey bar until she managed to get to Grizz and held her hand out to him. "Take my hand, Grizz." "No need to tell me twice." With that, Grizz took her hand and she pulled the Grizzly up onto it. "Phew! I'm alive!" "That was close, wasn't it?" Just then, they heard rustling in the leaves of the very branch they sat on. "Huh?" When they looked back, they saw that the roomba had returned. Jessica whispered hoarsely to Grizz. "Oh, no. It's gotten a taste for our fur and flesh." To prove her point, the roomba dashed toward them like a roller coaster. Jessica immediately panicked and went on top of Grizz's back. "Hurry up and climb, you fool!" With that, Grizz climbed high up on the tree as fast as he could as the roomba swirled around the tree, knocking off the branches in the process, and scaring away the crowd. When they got on the tip there was nowhere else to go but down, where their predator was. "Great! A dead end!" Grizz tried to get it to fall off by tossing the tiny branches near the tip. "Go away! Shoo!" However, they either missed or fell prey to the carnivorous roomba, leaving shaved bark in its wake. Grizz and Jessica were only left with one option, despite the overwhelming chance it'd fall on seemingly no ears at all. "Help!" The roomba was about to suck up Grizz's tail when they heard a snap from below. Both Grizz, Jessica, and the roomba stopped their motion in confusion before the tree they're stuck on started to tip over toward the cave. Jessica held tightly on Grizz as it fell speedily. Grizz knew that given his "abs", he'd be able to make sure Jessica would land safely. So he grabbed Jessica from his back and put her in front of him before they crashed into the cave, and onto the desk, splintering it. Unbeknownst to them, it also flung a tiny mouse onto the bed, where the roomba landed as well before it sucked up the blanket, and the mouse with it. Before it could be sucked up, an axe cleaved the roomba in two. It was from Ice Bear, who rubbed his head where it was sweaty with a towel afterward. Panda was surprised at the events that took place. "Whoa! Jessica, what happened?" Jessica didn't know anymore than Panda, as the whole roomba attack was out of nowhere, but could care less at the moment. "I don't even want to know." Then, she remembered her friend that took the blow for her and gasped. "Grizz! Are you alright?" Grizz responded naturally as if he learned something new. "Hey, that actually hurt less than I thought it would." Just as Jessica have a sigh of relief, she felt two tiny bumps by her left foot. She picked up said bumps and realized what they were. "Huh? Whose contacts are those?" Panda scurried over to Jessica. "Oh, my gosh! Give them to me!" Startled as she was, Jessica gave the contacts to Panda who then went to his laptop and tried to fix what went wrong. "Oh, delete, delete, delete! Come on, come on, come on!" Jessica was confused about Panda's own panic. "Uh, what's up with you?" "Nothing!" After fixing the mistake, Panda took a sigh of relief before Jessica took a look at the laptop and went to the recently deleted section, one that Panda made the mistake of forgetting. "Wait, no!" To her surprise, Jessica saw a text saying that he hated babies, as well as photos of him looking at his armpit, taking a selfie while in the towel, making a dazed face with drool added, and finally him acting like a superhero holding a plunger with underwear on his head. Panda tried to apologize for the posts that shouldn't have been made. "Jessica. I'm so sorry." However, that kind of thing happened to her before and instantly knew what really happened as she smiled. "Let me guess, having problems with a mouse?" Panda gave a sad time as he answered. "Yes." "How many friends do you have now?" Panda replied again. "Only 44." "How many girlfriends did you lose?" Panda grew surprised to ask that question before he replied justcas blandly. "None. I didn't get any." "I wouldn't say that." Jessica then kissed Panda in the cheek, earning his confusion and beet red cheeks. "Because you got me." "W-what was that for?" "I know that all of those posts were an accident. That kind of thing happened to me once, too." Just then, the mouse squeaked as it went on her hands, scaring the bajeebers out of Panda. "Back away, you creature of burden!" Jessica tried to calm him down before it escalated. "It's alright, Panda. Chill out. This little guy won't bother you anymore." Just then, a firefighter arrived on top of the cave. "Don't worry, son! We'll get you out of there! Just grab my hand and you'll be okay! Grab my hand!" Jessica grew annoyed very quickly given his role if one could call it that. _'Seriously?! Now he shows up when this is already over?!'_ "Go away!" "Do not worry!" "I'm not worried! Just go!" Then, Jessica had an idea. She gave the firefighter the tiny mouse. "Don't worry, sir. I got you. Someone get me a small stretcher!" Jessica grunted in dissatisfaction. "If only they were this responsive during the actual danger. My dad was a better fireman than that." Then, upon hearing herself, Jessica covered her mouth. Grizz felt it to be suspicious. "Wait, come to think of it, why haven't we seen your father?" Considering it was a touchy subject, Jessica opened her palms from her mouth, only to reply in a high voice. "That's none of your business!" Jessica placed her palms back on her mouth and began to take off, leaving the bears in Panda's room. However, Panda took off after her. "Jessica, wait!" Jessica stopped as she was mere inches from the door. "Just leave me alone, please." Panda was more determined than ever to get the answer. "I just want to know." "You don't need to be concerned with that." "The only one I'm concerned about is you!" Jessica widened her eyes from hearing that. "Really? You're concerned... about me?" "Of course I am, Jessica. That's what usually happens when you're in love with someone. I want to know the truth for your sake." Panda put his paws on her shoulders before she sighed. "Alright. But you have to promise not to tell anyone, alright?" "Fair enough." "Ice Bear will keep secret in tight lips." Jessica and Panda turned to see Ice Bear and Grizz behind them. "That goes for you, too." They nodded in respect. "Hmm." Jessica then sat down at the couch as she took a deep breath. "Okay. My dad was an extremely good firefighter. He even saved animals when they're stuck in little trees. But, one day, after my 10th birthday, I just got rushed into something in the middle of the night. Something about taking off to start a new life. But, for whatever reason, my Dad... he just... took off without us. Just left me and Mom behind. Without him, the morale of the firefighters meant nothing. Basically, they're hopeless. Maybe... maybe I'm hopeless." Panda put his paw on Jessica's shoulder. "You're not, Jessica. Look, you are the greatest thing that's ever happened to us." "Pan's right, Jessie. Just since we've met you, we've learned to be a part of a community." "Ice Bear idolizes you as precious sister." In other situations, Jessica would raise her eyes in suspicion, confusion, and even worry. But it felt... comforting in some way. "Look, your Dad may not realize it, wherever he is, but you are the most special girl I've ever met in this world. If he can't acknowledge that, then it's his loss." Jessica smiled as she brushed off the tears from a painful memory before hugging him. "Thank you, guys. You're the best friends I could've ever asked for." Then, Grizz and Ice Bear joined in on the hug. Speaking of friends, she realized something. "Oh, wait. I didn't get their numbers!"

 **A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Like I said, I didn't know if I could be able to work during Winter Break. And I'm trying hard to follow the advice so the paragraphs don't get jumbled up. But thanks for waiting. :) And I don't know if it's lazy writing, but honestly it's hard coming up with stories. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth it. That's why you could also expect a new story from Dragon Ball Super called "Warriors of Hope" hopefully sometime this month. ;) See you later!**


	7. Burrito

**Chapter 7: "Burrito"**

It began at the Purrito restaurant where Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear saw Jessica at a table when they walked in. "Hey, guys." Grizz and Panda waved to her. "Hey, Jessica. So glad you could join us." "Well, you know what they say. The more, the merrier." Panda was curious about how her mother felt about it. "Wait, what about your Mom?" "Well, she said she's just fine with it. Besides, I've got a lot of money. I'm basically loaded." Panda was impressed, to put it mildly. "Really? That's so cool!" "I know, right?" Just then, a waiter arrived. "Welcome to Purrito, everyone. What can I get for you today?" Panda was kind enough to let Jessica go first. "I'll take the Four-Cheese Grill, and a medium soda, please." "Um, I'll have the veggie tacos, please, and some extra salsa." "Okay." The waiter turned to Ice Bear, who had just finished eating the chips and wanted more. "Ice Bear will have more free chips." Then, he turned to Grizz. "And what about you, sir?" Grizz saw something on the menu that caught his eye and pointed it out to the waiter. "What can you tell me about _this_?!" The waiter saw what Grizz was pointing to and obliged him. "Ah, yes, our famous burrito challenge. Succeed in eating our whole array of burritos in one hour, and you'll get your photo up on our wall." Jessica saw that a lot of people in the photos felt sick to the stomach after that. "Wow. Really?" "It can be pretty hard, though. I'd be lying if I told you there weren't gonna be any tears involved. So, I understand if you don't want to do it anymore." At this, Jessica smiled smugly as Grizz laughed. "Oh, that's cute. Oh, I'll do your precious challenge. And I'll do it in half an hour." "You may want to be quick. There's no telling how a bear would eat." "Ice Bear wants seperate checks."

Then, to start off the challenge, Jessica played one of her favorite songs, "Mississippi Queen" at the exact moment when the waiter started the timer as a power Music for Grizz. "Okay. Ready... start! First up, the fajita steak burrito." Grizz only yawned before ripping it open and eating it in two bites. "Another!" Then, the waiter got out the second burrito. "Jalapeño chicken burrito." Grizz practically shoved the whole thing in his mouth before a third was presented. "Baja halibut burrito." Then, Grizz are it in two bites. Grizz continued to mow down the burritos as the song played.

 _Mississippi Queen,_

 _If you know what I mean_

 _Mississippi Queen,_

 _She taught me everything_

 _Way down around Vicksburg,_

 _Around Louisiana Way,_

 _Lived a Cajun lady_

 _Aboard the Mississippi Queen_

 _You know she was a dancer_

Then, Grizz began to age more than one burrito at a time. "Avocado delight. Pork wasabi. Veggie patty. Bacon and egg. Crazy meat." Grizz then drank a soda before eating one more. "Cilantro overload."

 _Boy I beg your pardon I was getting mine_

 _Mississippi Queen!_

Then, Grizz grabbed eight burritos at a time (one for each arm and ate them all as the song finished. "Finished!" "Finished." The waiter stopped his timer and looked at the time. "Wow. 15 minutes. That's a new record!" Jessica smiled at them. "I told ya. Never underestimate a bear." The waiter took one more look at the list. "But there's still one last burrito." The waitress that walked by him to see the next front runner wasn't sure about it. "Are you sure you want to do... that one?" "We have no choice. Do it." The waitress ran over to a picture of a cat in a mariachi outfit, and moved it out of the way to press a special button, causing an alarm to go off. That, in turn, caused everyone except Grizz and the table to be outside of the table. Jessica was surprised that the last burrito in the contest was made into such a big deal. Grizz didn't seem to mind in the least. "This contest is a breeze! What's one more burrito gonna do?" When Jessica and Panda took a look at the last burrito, it was very easy to see why it was a big deal. "Uh, Grizz?" "Don't look now, but..." "Hmm?" When Grizz and Ice Bear looked next, they were astounded and amazed. As the waiters and waitress brought over the colossal burrito, Grizz tapped on the chair in anticipation, followed by running to it and skipping in place. "Oooooh! Gimme, gimme, gimme. Ooh-eh." However, the moment he grabbed onto the colossal burrito, he felt warm, mostly due to the heat of the burrito, and squeezed it a bit tighter as his eyes widened. "Mmm." Jessica wanted to know how he felt. "Uh, you feeling okay?" "Yeah, it's just this burrito, it's... so comforting. Nice and warm. Safe. Safe burrito." Jessica looked on over to the bears, who just shrugged, not having any idea why that came to pass. Then, the waiter spoke up. "Well, eat it." "N-no! It's too perfect to eat!" Then, another waiter spoke up. "I will eat it!" Grizz, however, was becoming protective. "Stay away! You stay away from burrito. Let's get outta here, guys." Then, Grizz ran away with the burrito, leaving Jessica and the bears in the restaurant as the waiter got a receipt and slammed it on the table. "Cash only." Panda laughed nervously before Jessica covered them. "It's on me."

After paying for the food, Jessica felt a bit of relief. "Phew. That was close, wasn't it, guys?" Ice Bear responded by panting heavily. Panda wanted to know if Grizz was in his right mind. "Uh... are we really gonna keep that thing?" "Of course, silly. What else would we do with such a magnificent burrito?" Jessica had to hazard a guess. "Uh, store it in the icebox?" Ice Bear instantly became peeved. "Ice Bear will not approve." Just then, Grizz noticed where they were. "Hey, a theater! We should watch a movie." Jessica was a bit cautious about the idea. "Okay. But first, I'll tell my Mom. Per the norm." "Come on, come on, come on." Then, Grizz spoke up to the lady in the box. "Ahem, four ticke-" He then checked the modulator in the box to see if it worked. "Hello! Can you hear me?" The lady responded blankly. "Yes." "Great! Four tickets, please." The lady pointed out one more number. "You got five people there." Grizz thought she miscounted. "Uh, no, we have four." "You'll have to pay for that thing, as well." Panda tried to clear up the misunderstanding. "Uh, there must be a misunderstanding here. You see, that's just a burrito. It can't watch movies." Then, Grizz spoke up to defend the inanimate object that was supposed to be eaten. "Hey, watch what you say, man. Burrito's gonna enjoy this movie. Don't listen to that silly Panda. It's okay." Jessica was confused. "Okay, what was that about?" "I don't know, but your guess is as good as mine."

In the theater, as they were watching a movie, Grizz passed a couple of popcorn pieces to the burrito. Panda noticed it and tried to take one, only for Grizz to smack his hand. Jessica saw it for herself and passed her popcorn pieces to Panda.

In the mall, Grizz, Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear were at the escalator, attracting all kinds of attention, mostly because Grizz was holding the burrito. As they walked in the halls later on, Grizz found a room that interested him and took off with the burrito in tow. When Jessica, Panda, and Ice Bear turned around, they saw that Grizz was gone. Jessica ran to look for them, only to find Grizz taking his pictures with the burrito. Jessica didn't know how to feel about this particular situation. So she walked away from it. Jessica then told the Bears about it and they came to an agreement. Jessica was going to go home to take a look at the effects of the obsession with inanimate objects as well as the causes while Panda and Ice Bear keep an eye on Grizz and the burrito. With that, Jessica called Patricia and told her that she'll be home. When she did, she told her about Grizz's problem. "Really? Hanging out with a burrito?" "I know, right? Which is why I need to use the laptop." "Well, of course, but don't stay on there for too long or you could end up like him." Jessica felt it was uncalled for. "Too soon, Mom."

The next day after lunch, Jessica got all of her findings and brought Patricia with her to the Bears' cave at the exact moment Panda and Ice Bear arrived. But when they opened the door, the smell inside was unpleasant. "Ohh! What is that smell?" Jessica and Patricia smelled that too. "Ew! Something does smell really weird like moldy cheese and puke." "Please tell me you got an Air Freshener." Unfortunately, Ice Bear shook his head before analyzing the source. When he sniffed at the burrito itself, Ice Bear got disgusted. "Uh... Ice Bear feels nauseous." Panda has had enough of it. "Grizz, this is disgusting. Your burrito smells horrible!" Grizz gasped dramatically in response to Panda's complaint. "How could you say they about Burrito, and right in front of him? Panda, I'm shocked." "You're shocked?! I'm the one who should be shocked! You never wanna go out with us anymore. You're never two feet away from that burrito! It's creepy, man!" Jessica spoke next as Ice Bear walked in with tissues on his nose and Patricia leaving the room to apply the same tactic. "Grizz, I understand how cool that burrito is, but the way you've been socializing with it, it's just not natural." "Ice Bear forced to agree." Grizz was still adamant in keeping his burrito. "You guys just don't understand. Also, it's not 'that burrito,' it's just Burrito." "You've changed, Grizz." Grizz immediately snapped at Panda. "YOU'RE WRONG! Burrito's the best thing that ever happened to me, so just leave us alone!" Then, Grizz ran off with the burrito, only to come back, realizing he forgot the cheese puffs. Once he obtained them, he ran to his bedroom and slammed the door. Jessica took the opportunity to pull up her findings on the laptop. "I think it's worse than we thought, guys. Mom and I found this website about people who get too attached to their food. Just look at all of those." Jessica pulled up pictures stating each example. "This lady in Idaho became obsessed with a bag of chips. Someone in Japan married their bowl of Ramen. And this guy even adopted a jar of pickles. It just goes on and on! They forget about their families and friends and sometimes just become total hermits. I also found out that it happens because of a tragic event that took place in a certain aspect of their lives and these foods somehow represent their source of relief." Panda grew confused about it. He's been with Grizz for most of his life. "Well, what could've happened? I've been with him for most of his life and I never saw him get so scared even once." "I don't know, Pan-Pan. But for now, I think one thing is certain. We have to do something about that burrito." Ice Bear looked toward Jessica and nodded. "Ice Bear sees where this is going."

Later, lightning struck as Grizz tossed and turned in the bedroom. Every time he stirred, he saw mementos of his tragic event, ranging from a tree branch to a silhouette of a firefighter reaching his hand out. When lightning struck again, Grizz woke up with a start. "Burrito!" He hyperventilated for a while, only to relax soon after. After he turned and clutched onto something, he realized he clutched onto a bag of rice. "Huh? What the...? Uh... Burrito?" Grizz could barely make out the shapes carrying the burrito carrying the burrito until lightning struck revealing Panda, Patricia, Jessica, and Ice Bear. Jessica replied before they took off. "Sorry, Grizz!" "Hey, come back here! Kidnappers!" Then, Panda, Ice Bear, Patricia, and Jessica bolted out of the door. "Don't hate us, please!" Grizz chased after them as he panted. As they ran, Panda could still smell the burrito stank. "Oh, it smells so bad! Ah! My hand has juices on it!" Then, Jessica tried to snap him out of it. "Calm down, Panda! We have to do this!" Then, the chase continued on as the Bears took the pathway while Grizz plowed (and tripped) through the bushes to get his burrito back. However, the burrito somehow got snagged on a spider web. "Oh, come on!" Eventually, they managed to remove the web and got to the electric towers. When they stopped they noticed Grizz glaring at them as lightning struck. "We're doing this for your own good, Grizz!" "This burrito is driving you insane!" Grizz, however was too desperate to get it back to listen to reason. "Grizz... needs... Burrito." Jessica didn't really know where else to go. "Where do we go now?" Panda saw the towers and had a crazy idea. "Uh, up the tower!" Then, they ran to the tower and brought the burrito up with them to keep it away from Grizz. Grizz ran up the tower, only to slip from the rain and onto the grass. What Jessica saw was too reminiscent of her own tragic event. Grizz ended up crying his heart out. "Dudes, why are you doing this?! I need to be with Burrito! Burrito completes me!" Instantly, Jessica got a flashback of her own as lightning struck.

 ** _A little girl in a ponytail was calling out for her father in the rain as the boat took off. "Dad, why are you doing this?! I want you here with us! I want you back!"_**

When lightning struck again, the next thing she knew, the burrito exploded, much to the surprise of the "kidnappers" and the horror of Grizz. As the exploded burrito fell to the grass, Panda tried to apologize to Grizz. "Grizz! I'm sorry. I'm so - wha-ah-oh! I'm so sorry!" Then, Panda, Ice Bear, Jessica, and Patricia slid down the tower and half of the group tried to comfort him. "Grizz are you okay?!" While Panda and Ice Bear went over to Grizz, Patricia noticed Jessica, who stood as stiff as Grizz. "Jessica, look at me. Look at me!" Jessica was snapped out of her stupor when Patricia shook her. "H-huh? Mom. I-I thought I saw..." "Jessica, calm down. What did you see?" Jessica relayed her flashback to Patricia. "I-I saw myself... crying out for Dad, telling him to come back." Jessica then hugged Patricia as she felt a pang of sadness from the memory. "I miss him, Mom... so much." Patricia hugged her daughter back as Panda tried to put it back together. "Put this right here, and - There. See, Grizz? It's not so bad. We could just put it back togeth- whoa-oa!" Panda then slipped on the remains of the burrito and fell to the grass, earning his slight chuckle. Jessica heard Grizz's chuckle and wanted to make Grizz happy again despite her own trauma. In fact, her friends' happiness was the cure for it. Panda got up feeling disgusted. "Oh! That was so unpleasant." Then, Ice Bear shoved Panda to the burrito meat, earning Jessica's glare, which then turned into a smile when Grizz laughed even more. Then, the bears and Jessica smiled at each other before Panda wiped the meat off of him and chucked it at Ice Bear. "Ha!" Then, he laughed before Jessica chucked her meat at Panda as she and Grizz joined in the food fight. At the end of it, Jessica, Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear were on the meat with their backs laughing together. "Ah, in sorry if I was acting weird, you guys." "We were really worried there." "So, you feeling okay?" "Oh, don't worry about it. I feel good as new. Come on, let's head home." "Ice Bear demands everyone showers." Patricia couldn't agree more. "That goes double for you, young lady." "No need to tell me twice." Then, Jessica realized something. Throughout their whole escapade, she never figured out how Grizz became so obsessed. "Hmm. Still, I wonder how Grizz got so attached to it." Then, remembering Grizz's words at the restaurant she figured it out. "Hey, Mom. Is Dad's box still in my bedroom?" Patricia grew anxious to answer, but nonetheless replied. "Well, uh, yes. Why?" Jessica smiled back. "Because I have an idea."

 _The lake sort of knows me._

 _Was it you who promised time?_

When she got home, she looked inside her chest labeled "Dad's stuff" in the closet and found a soft silver arm wrap that looked identical to a burrito.

 _Lead me to a land so green,_

 _So she'll stay a while._

Jessica never understood why he had it, until now. Given that he was a firefighter before, they most commonly used it to get small creatures away securely. Also considering how Grizz called it nice, warm, and safe, that was more than enough indication that Grizz was stuck up in a tree and was rescued before. If that wasn't enough, there was a picture of her dad holding the tiny Grizz in his silver arm wrap, looking as snug as a baby. That moment on, she took back everything she said about the firefighters here in California. "Dad."

 _Please take me there._

 _I'm ready._

Jessica began to tear up before wiping her cheeks away. "Thank you, for saving my friend." Jessica placed the picture in front of her desk by her laptop and put the silver arm wrap around her arm, before going to bed. "I don't know why you've gone away, Dad, but at least, this way, I'll be sleeping with you." Then, Jessica turned off her lamp and went to sleep.

 _The ship sways, but the heart is steady._

 _I have time._

Patricia looked in her daughter's bedroom to see a picture of her husband and baby Grizz at her desk and sighed before closing the door. After that she hung her head down while placing her hand on it before walking away from the door. "Oh, Jessica. If only we could tell you the truth."

 **A/N: I noticed I forgot to add in the legend for what goes on in the story. So, I'll remedy this by showing it to you. Talking:** "Hello." **Thinking:** _'Hello.'_ **Singing:** _Hello._ **Flashback: _"Hello."_** **I hope I made this clear. As for the truth, it'd be evident in Season 2, most likely in Captain Craboo. Later! :)**


	8. Icy Nights

**A/N: Hello, everyone. I'm sorry it's been taking me so long to come up with these stories. I haven't had any time to find the episodes of Season 1 on demand. So, to make up for the delay, here's Icy Nights. Enjoy. :)**

"Icy Nights"

One night, Jessica was packing up her phone, wallet, and bag before she began walking out the door, only for Patricia to speak to her. "And just where do you think you're going, young lady?" Jessica turned to her mother and replied. "Just to the store." "In the night? Why?" "There's no long lines there." "Oh, I see. Well, remember to call me when it gets too much. I am a police officer, you know." "Yep. And that's kinda what scares me." "Oh, don't worry. If it's not past curfew, it shouldn't be a problem." Jessica grew relieved to hear it from her cop mother. "Phew! Thanks, Mom. Really takes a load off. See you." Then, Jessica walked out of the door and closed it before heading out into the city on her car.

As she cruised around the city, she couldn't help but behold the beautiful spectacle of the city lights that lit up the night sky, although she was careful not to crash. When she pulled up into the driveway by the 24 hour quick mart, she noticed Ice Bear walking in after locking his roomba to ensure it's protected. "Hmm. So that's what happened to you." Then, she proceeded to walk to the store only to witness a van park by the roomba and see a familiar face exiting out of the van before riding on it like a skateboard peeving her. Then, it struck her. His name was Barry. He was her ex-boyfriend back in High School before they moved. But because of his self-centeredness and lethal manipulation that resulted in the loss of her best friend's trust in her, she had to break up with him.

* * *

 _At New York, Jessica was talking with Dianne Simmons, who had just told her about a missing robot. "Really? Your robot went missing, Dianne?" "Yeah. The worst part is, I just gave it to him. I thought he was going to supervise it, but it's been three weeks now." "Well, if I find it I'll be sure to let you know." "Really? Thanks, Jessie! You're the best."_

 _Later, Jessica was walking through the halls, still griping about her decline in grade point average. She was just scolded for using her father's disappearance as a scapegoat, but that made her all the more angry. Why did she have to put up with this? She smashed against her locker and shouted in frustration. "Why can't you just leave me alone?!" "Jam on, girlfriend." Jessica heard his voice and turned to see Barry by her side. "I couldn't help but see such a killer anger vibe. I dig it, really." Jessica assumed he was hitting on her and didn't like it one bit. "I'm not interested." As she walked out, Barry tried to explain himself. "Wait, wait, wait! I get what you're going through. I mean, I lost my mother." Jessica grew surprised and turned to him. "You did?" "Yeah. When I was 7, a car was steering out of control right at us. When I looked, Mom shoved me away and... that was the last time I saw her breathing." Jessica instantly felt bad about her remark and walked over to him. "Sorry that it happened to you." "It's cool. Some things are just beyond our control." Then, Jessica smiled before shaking hands with him. "My name's 's yours?" "My name's Barry." Then, Barry put his arm around Jessica as he spoke onward. "I can already tell. This is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."_

* * *

To see him again was bad enough, but to see him messing with her friend's roomba, that set her off. "Hey! Get off of his vacuum, Barry!" Then, Barry turned to see Jessica and grew surprised, but mostly smug. "Whoa-ho! Look what the cat dragged in." "Save it, Barry. Just get off of it, now." "Yeah? And what are you gonna do if I don't?" Just then, Ice Bear exited the door and saw Jessica standing up to Barry as he sported a scowl of his own. Jessica took the opportunity to go by his side and answer him. "You'll have to answer to him for that." Barry began to laugh his face off before he asked. "Let me— Let me guess. He's your boyfriend now?" Jessica grew embarrassed before responding back to him. "No! But he is dangerous. So, if you know what's good for you, you will get off of his ride now." However, Barry had other plans. "Oh, wait. Is this yours? We're admiring your upgrades and customizations. This is a really high-quality product you have here. So, how much do you want for it?" Jessica and Ice Bear continued their scowl as he replied. "Not for sale." "Sorry, what was that?" "He said it's not for sale." "I know what he said, Bryce!" Then, Barry took a deep breath before trying again. "Sorry about that. I'm not sure you understood my question. I want to buy your product, and when I want something, I get it." Jessica stormed toward Barry and jabbed her finger at his chest. "And I'm not sure you understood his answer. No means no, so just back off." Then, Jessica shoved Barry to the floor, earning an ooh from Barry's gang before the door opened for the cashier. "Excuse me, sir. You need to sign for the card." As Ice Bear walked in the store, Jessica continued to glare at Barry, who got up with his own glare. "You should've known better than to mess with me." Then, Barry began clapping his hands, signaling his gang to get out chain cutters and break it before snatching Ice Bear's roomba. "No! Barry, stop this!" "And why should I, huh?" Then, he shoved Jessica back to the streets, causing her arm to scrape against the cement, leaving its mark on her before she growled. "I told you, didn't I? When I want something, I get it." Then, he got in the van with the roomba and took off into the streets. As Jessica stood up, her legs shaking, Ice Bear got out of the store and was too late to save his ride. He then looked to Jessica and saw her arm was scratched from when it landed on the ground. "Jessica." "Sorry, Ice. I tried my best." She groaned and inhaled sharply as the pain kicked in while the cashier got out of the store. "Sir, you want me to call the police?" Ice Bear only looked down towards his hands and clenched them before he answered. "Ice Bear will take care of this." Then, Jessica stepped next to him. "I'm going with you." Ice Bear didn't see any reason why she should. "Jessica should stay. This is personal." "You're not the only one who's hurt, Ice. Barry's hurt me before. In fact, I'm his worst victim. He... he used me to hurt other people. I have to be the one to take him down." Ice Bear grew surprised by Jessica's determination and conviction if not by her secrets before he finally agreed. "Ice Bear will allow it."

* * *

Later, Ice Bear and Jessica were walking down the alley with the latter's arm bandaged up from her last encounter before he knocked on the door, causing the sliding door to open up and reveal two sets of eyes to which Ice Bear spoke. "Boukashka." Then, the sliding door closed before it opened again to reveal a tall man with a beard. Then, Ice Bear handed him a Pizza Bagel package before he spoke in Russian, allowing them in. When Ice Bear pulled the curtains, they saw a lot of people on computers and a bar at the center selling coffee. "Wait. I've been in a place like this before."

* * *

 _One night, Jessica was on the computer playing a game when Barry took a look at what she was playing. "Hey, you play Rampage, too?" "Yeah. It's my guilty pleasure and my outlet." "Outlet? For what?" Once Jessica finished a round, she turned to Barry. "Well, you know how my dad has been gone for years? Sometimes, I get too angry to think straight. Whenever that happens, I go here and play Rampage. I mean, as fun as it is to draw and create art, it's more fun to destroy something once in a while, you know?" Then, Barry smiled smugly. "More than you know..."_

* * *

After her walk in memory lane, she got back to the task at hand when Ice Bear noticed the reception. "There's Yana. Let's go." They then walked toward the bar as the bartender with a snow tattoo on her arm refused the customer's service. "Nyet! We do not sell flax here. What kind of place do you think this is?" Then, she began speaking in Russian before she noticed Jessica and Ice Bear. "You." Jessica thought she was unwelcome despite her status. "I can tell you're happy to see me." "Oh, you're fine. It's him I'm not happy with." Jessica grew confused. "Uh, you two know each other?" Ice Bear ignored her and spoke to her in Russian. She didn't seem to like it as she spoke to him. "I thought I told you never to come back here." "Ice Bear and Jessica need to find someone." The bartender only laughed before responding. "You need my help again?" Jessica began to growl at her before she spoke. "Look, this is serious! I don't care what kind of grudge you have! You have to help us out!" "And why should I?" Then, Jessica drew a picture of a saw on fire before showing it to her. "Barry took my friend's ride from him, and we need your help on where he is." "You're in over your heads." Then, Yana turned her attention to Ice Bear. "And why would I help you anyway? The last time I did you a favor, you crashed my car and I ended up with 30 stitches in my shoulder!" "For Ice Bear, please. One last time." He then spoke in Russian again before she took a deep breath and gave them a card. "Do not tell a single soul I gave you this. Their headquarters is in the far side of town. Be careful. They're very dangerous." Jessica only smirked at her. "It can't be any worse than High School." Then, Yana decided to get back to work. "Excuse me, I have to make coffee for nerds." As she poured a cup, she began reminiscing about her time with Ice Bear. Then, she took another deep breath before she turned back around. "Why don't you stay a while, catch up on all—" However, they've already left, but not before leaving behind a flower origami, of which she held it close to her with a smile.

* * *

Meanwhile, Barry and his gang have made it to the headquarters as they got excited. "Man, tonight is gonna be epic!" Barry only scoffed at this. "Talk like that is the reason why they call us 'Brogrammers.' But, yeah. It'll be epic." Then, Barry and his gang scanned their cards on the pad before they got in. Then, Ice Bear and Jessica scanned theirs before they got in. As Barry and his men walked in, Jessica glared at him. "To think I used to enjoy this place."

* * *

 _Jessica was taken to the building of Barry's workplace at New York. "And here,_ _we_ _have round-the-clock laptops where_ _we_ _create projects, make frameworks, that sort of thing." "Aw! I thought you said there were games." "Oh, there are. And they're going to blow your mind." Then, he showed Jessica the bottom vault labeled 'Veiled Fortress' where there was a huge gladiatorial ring showing Robots fighting each other. Jessica gasped in shock as she witnessed one robot tripping the other before kicking him to the wall, smashing it to pieces as the crowd exclaimed. Jessica held her hands to her mouth before Barry spoke. "So, what do you think?" Jessica turned back to Barry with a smile. "I love it! This is so amazing!" Barry chuckled as if he had won a prize at the carnival. "I had a feeling you'd say that."_

* * *

As they followed the gang to the doors, they stayed behind and stepped lightly to avoid detection. When they entered through, Jessica and Ice Bear saw the same symbol on the back of Barry's van above the veiled fortress arcade game before Ice Bear kicked it, allowing them to walk in. Then, they traveled down the elevator before it opened. Much to their horror, they've witnessed a circle of robotics competitors using their robots like gladiators, each of them destroying other robots. Jessica gasped out loud before covering her mouth and noticing an announcer on the monitor. "Oh, snap! Fatality! Enough of that noise! Who's brave enough to challenge these brogrammers?" Then, Barry and his gang stepped forward, causing Ice Bear and Jessica to glare at him before someone shoved them away. "Move it, sheep!" Jessica didn't like his attitude. "Rude." " I'll grind your new bot to dust, with my new ultimate destroyer X-235!" Then, a huge robot in the shape of a pocket pal stepped forward while getting out two saw blades, a mace, and two antennae. Barry only got his control pad out and summoned, to their horror, Ice Bear's roomba, only now it's blue color has changed to red. The opponent just brushed it off. "What? That's the best you've got? Oh, this is gonna be too easy!" Barry only smirked at him. "You're right. It is." Then, Barry ordered it to summon an axe just as the bell rung. Then, it went through the opponent's machine in one swift move before he got confused. "Huh?" Then, in a second, it was cleaved in half before it fell. Then, the roomba began destroying the robot mercilessly, infuriating Ice Bear before they caught him and Jessica.

* * *

When the lights came on, Jessica and Ice Bear were strapped to two chairs with one rope holding their hands together and the both of them tried to get free before she came up with a different plan. She used her hands to grab her phone and set it on record while calling her Mom with her ringer off before setting it back in her pocket. "Good thing I've practiced." Just then, Barry spoke up from the shadows. "Well, well, well. I had a feeling you'd show up. Especially you, Jessie. Brings back memories, doesn't it?" When Ice Bear didn't budge with his eyes fixated on him, Jessica filled in for him. "Uh, yeah. He's just wondering, 'what kind of place is this?!'" "This here? It's just something we tech guys like to do for fun. After developing code all day, building servers, creating frameworks, it's nice to destroy something every once in a while, you know? That sound familiar?" Jessica knew for a fact that it did before retorting at him. "You don't need to remind me." "It's unfortunate we had to borrow your friend's modified vacuum cleaner, but hey, we call it fair use." Jessica glared at him as she spoke. "Yeah, well that's why I broke up with you on the first place." "No. You broke up with me because you couldn't handle the intensity. Do they get smashed to pieces too many to count? Sure, but they're just robots! I thought you of all people would understand!" "That's not true and you know it." Barry gave himself a breather with a deep inhale and exhale before speaking on. "Just keep telling yourself that. Anyway, we're always scouting for new talent in the tech industry, so I propose we make a deal. Last chance: join our company. Become one of us. What do you say?" Jessica scoffed at that offer instead. "You can take your offer and blow it out of your nose. You stole my friend's ride without consent, you broke my heart, and worst of all, you used me to crush other people's dreams. You really think I'll ever join you? I would rather _die._ " "Ice Bear will break you." "Hmm. Well, you can't blame me for trying. If it's a fight you want, then a fight you shall have." Suddenly, the lights came on as the crowd chanted for the fight to commence. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" "Well, I guess that settles it, and you know what? I've got the perfect opponent for you." Then, the corrupt roomba moved in from behind Barry as Jessica glared at him. "You shouldn't have messed with me, Jessie. I told you, when I want something I get it." As the door closed up, the monitor came on. "Oh, shoot! Looks like we got our first-ever bot vs. bear vs. girl match!" Then, Barry walked up to the ring with a smirk. "Let the games begin." Then, he used the controller to make the roomba use the axe. Ice Bear panicked initially as he tried to break himself out. However, Jessica was getting ready to pull up a trick, something that Ice Bear took notice of and followed her cue. All the while, Barry swiped the tablet and amped up the speed while also aggravating it. As the roomba sped at them, Jessica took a deep breath as did Ice Bear. Then, just as the roomba would've sliced them, Jessica and Ice Bear rugged in the rope, causing the roomba to cut through it. Then, Jessica leaped from her chair and made a break for the door before turning to see Ice Bear in a meditating position as it charged at him with its axe, worrying her. "Ice, get out of the way!" Ice Bear didn't move an inch as it drew closer. Then, Ice Bear clapped his hands, causing it to stop its axe, inches away from his face. Barry grew surprised that it's done so. "What? What the—?" As Barry tried to gain control back, Jessica moved her hands away from her face, expecting it to have sliced Ice Bear, but to her surprise, it hadn't. She then drew a breath of relief before it glowed blue again. "Game's over, Barry." Barry growled before he shouted at the others. "Get them! All robots in the pit, now!" Then, the crowd that was watching joined in with their robots as they swarmed around the group. Jessica looked toward Ice Bear. "So, you take half, I'll take half?" Ice Bear smiles to Jessica as he clapped his hands, causing the roomba to give her the axe while popping out another one for Ice Bear as he hopped onto it. Then, while Ice Bear rode on his roomba hacking the robots to pieces, Jessica performed several full frontal assaults on the robots and sliced them in half. For a while, it seemed to have worked until Ice Bear got knocked by a stray robot, sending his axe flying and embedding it onto the pit wall, scaring a few of the crowd. Then, as the robots began piling on him, Jessica grew worried and tried to go after him. "Hang on, Ice!" Then, Ice Bear pointed to his roomba, to which Jessica noticed it banging against a colossal robot with a wooden hammer. Barry had just the right move to finish it, and the button to do it. "Finish the vacuum cleaner." Jessica gasped as the hammer cane down on it. However, she couldn't let the roomba be destroyed. "No! I won't fail again!" Then, Jessica lunged toward the roomba and shoved it out of the way. However, she was too late to save her back as the hammer smashed her spine as well as a fraction of her ribcage as she yelled in extreme pain, causing the entire crowd to fall silent, even Barry, who stood in utter shock at what had just occurred. As the hammer lifted, Jessica showed no signs of movement since her loud outburst of pain. It could be possible that she had passed out from the intense pain flooding through her body all at once, but that didn't stop Ice Bear from fearing the worst as he shed tears and tensed in anger before angrily removing the robots from him. The crowd grew even more shocked as Ice Bear began mercilessly tipping the robots to shreds and shrapnel. Soon, the crowd backed away in fear, as did Barry's gang, much to the leader's dismay. "Hey! Where are you guys going?! Get back here!" What no one knew during that moment was that Jessica was slightly opening her eyes to see Ice Bear tearing the robots apart with his fists and standing on top of a pile of them before she muttered. "Y-You're in... for it now... Barry..." Then, she passed out with a smile on her face as Ice Bear had finished the rest of them off. Meanwhile, the announcer had decided to take his leave as well. "Uh, I'm out, yo! Lates!" Then, As the monitor went blank, Ice Bear turned to see Jessica unconscious and held his ear close to her heart. Fortunately, it was still beating as he drew a breath of relief. Then, Ice Bear grabbed Jessica and put her arms around him before he grabbed the roomba and scaled the pit wall. Then, he heard Barry's clapping in the room. "Well played, my ursine friend. But I have to wonder. What will your next move be?" Then, Jessica began to cough, catching the both of them by surprise before she answered. "I thought... you'd have figured out by now." "Figured what?" "Your crowd that destroys robots? Well, they got quite a company waiting for them." Then, Jessica got her phone out to reveal that her mother was still on the line. "Before our talk, I decided to call her so that she could trace the call. My voice, as well as everything that's happened here, that's what's going to bring you down." Barry only chuckled at this. "Nice move, Jessie. But did you really think that could stop me?" "Nope. Just the crowd. I want to take you down myself. And I can't do that if you're not here." Then, Barry grew surprised as Jessica chucked a debris at him, only for it to go through him, proving her suspicions. "So, you've figured it out, huh?" "You are a brogrammer, Barry. I saw it coming a mile away." "Again, well played. But this game of cat and mouse can't last forever." "We know. That's why we're going to find you and take you out downtown." "Good luck." Then, the hologram disappeared before Ice Bear turned to Jessica and smiled as she did the same.

* * *

Then, as they walked out of the building, Ice Bear and Jessica were met with the police, having already arrested most of the crowd, mostly for being out past curfew. Then, Patricia ran over to them and hugged her. "Jessica! Thank goodness! Thank you so much for keeping her safe." However, given the fact that she'd gotten hurt, Ice Bear didn't feel that way. "Ice Bear could've done better." Then, Jessica spoke to him. "That wasn't your fault, Ice. I was ready for what happened then." The roomba beeped in agreement, catching Patricia's eye. "What's with the vacuum cleaner?" "It's a long story, Mom. But, to make it short, it's gonna be hard to walk by myself for a few weeks."

* * *

At the car, Patricia was told about her encounter with Barry on her way to the mart and how she ended up at the workplace of dread. "So, that's the whole story?" "Yeah. Pretty much." "Why did you shove the thing out of the way? You know it could be fixed, right?" "Maybe. But... it was more like a personal deal for me. That is, if you know what I'm talking about."

* * *

 _At the workplace one day, Jessica went toward Barry who tried to tell him something, but her voice was drowned out by the crowd. "Uh, Barry? Listen, I've got something I need to tell you!" "Shh! Not now, Jessica. This is gonna get good." Suddenly, a door opened to reveal a pink vacuum cleaner with red lines. Jessica knew who it belonged to and gasped in utter shock. "Wait, that's the new robot?!" "I know. Pretty cool, right?" "Uh, no! That robot belonged to Diane! How could you just take it from her?!" "_ _We_ _didn't._ _We_ _just offered to_ supervise _it." "Supervise? Are you kidding me right now?!" Suddenly, as the other robot prepared to strike down the pink roomba, Jessica could only watch as it got smashed to pieces in one blow. As Jessica grew upset at this, Barry found it anti climatic. "Wow, that was lame, am I right?" Then, Jessica glared at Barry before shoving him away and hopping down to the pit and cradled the smashed roomba. As the crowd booed at her actions, Barry stood up and tried to find out why she had pushed him away. "What was that for?!" "_ _We_ _'re through, Barry." With those three words hanging in the air amidst the sounds of the boos, Jessica walked out of the pit as tears fell down to her chin._

* * *

"My best friend never talked to me after what happened, even when I fixed it. Barry ruined my life before. I couldn't let him do it again." Patricia sighed in sadness before responding. "I hope the price you had to pay was worth it for you. That's all I have to say." Jessica closed her eyes in remembrance before responding back. "I understand."

* * *

Then, when she got back home, Jessica was held on the shoulder by her mother up to her bed before setting her down. "I hope you have a good night's sleep, Jessica." "Yeah, Mom. Me, too." Then, Patricia kissed her on the forehead before she stared at the ceiling a few minutes before Jessica heard a ringer on the phone and saw a text from Dianne Simmons. It said, "Sorry for not being there for you. Hope you get better soon." By the side of the text was a sad face emoji followed by a heart symbol. That text was below a news video showing that Jessica had thwarted the robot-fighting operation at the expense of her spine and ribcage. Jessica gasped at seeing this and silently cried tears of joy as she drifted off to sleep.


	9. Primal

**A/N: Hello, everyone. Sorry I took so long to make a new chapter for We Bare Bears. I've been meaning to work on it, but unfortunately, I... admittedly forgot about it. :( But not to worry. With the new year, I made a new schedule for uploading my stories that will help you see more We Bare Bear chapters more often. The most you can expect it will be Tuesdays-Thursdays. And as a bonus for your patience, another chapter will follow shortly by the time you finish reading this chapter. Enjoy. :)**

 **Chapter 9:** "Primal"

At the cave, it was a normal day with the bears. Grizz was opening a bag of animal crackers and pouring himself a cup of soda while Jessica prepped the flower fan for cool air before she sat in a pillow on the chair. Then, she opened up the laptop while she spoke to Grizz, who helped himself to the crackers.

"You know something, Grizz? I found this video online that had me in it. I don't think it was intentional, but I guess whoever posted it got a cameo appearance of me."

"Well, lay it on me, Jessie B."

"Sure thing."

With that, she typed the words 'baby sloth on the march' in the search bar before she found the video and clicked on it. However, when she did, an advertisement notification popped up with 20 seconds over it, peeving her and Grizz.

"What? Now?"

"Aw, boo!"

"It doesn't look like we can skip it. Well, I guess we can wait."

With that, Ice Bear walked by before Grizz looked to him and made an offer.

"Oh, hey. Do you want to watch that baby sloth video again? Jessica said she was in that one."

However, Ice Bear only walked away before Grizz spoke.

"Was that a no?"

Jessica could easily tell why, considering he was speaking with food in his mouth.

"I don't think he wanted to hear you talk with food in your mouth."

This made Grizz widen his eyes before swallowing his food before speaking.

"Point taken."

Then, the advertisement played on the laptop, getting their attention as it showed a man standing on the edge of the helicopter before leaping into an island as the announcer spoke.

"Wednesdays at 9:00. Do you have what it takes to answer the call of the wild? Badger does. He's been answering that call every day of his life and has now mastered the art of survival in any terrain."

As they watched, Grizz wiped the food away from his mouth while Jessica widened her eyes at this as Badger ran through the forest before climbing up a mountain with two pickaxes, walking through an icy landscape, leaping onto a tree, and making a shelter, pulling on his rope over a cliff while the announcer spoke on.

"Forest, desert, tundra, Badger's conquered them all. Drop him in a new territory, and he's like a kid in a dirt-and-snake-filled candy store."

As Grizz grew impressed, Jessica had her suspicions.

"Wow..."

"I wouldn't say that, Grizz. How do we know he's the real deal?"

The announcer then spoke as it showed Badger walking through the forest, showing only his boot, slicing through a tree with a knife, and grabbing the fish in the river with one hand swiftly, making Grizz do the same with his crackers as they went all over her lap before she spoke.

"He's the real deal, grasping life, kicking and fighting, living the way Mother Nature untended."

"Hey, Grizz! Take it easy."

"Sorry. But I'm just feeling so pumped!"

Then, it showed a boy on the laptop surrounded by five fans as the announcer spoke, making Grizz question his standing.

"Today, most of us are unable to function out of the confines of our comfy, air-conditioned homes. Pathetic!"

As Grizz panicked and turned off the fan, Jessica felt offended as she spoke.

"Hey! I resent that!"

As the announcer spoke while showing the supermarket, Jessica and Grizz each took a look at Panda, who started up a microwave while on the chair before going to his phone and Ice Bear using a water foot massage while doing some knitting before the laptop showed people out at restaurants, including Patricia, before showing Badger in the forest looking towards a deer.

"Is this really the fate Mother Nature intended for us? A normal life may be comfortable and clean, but does it really have what the beauty of nature can offer?"

As she took points from it, Jessica put her hand under her chin as she spoke.

"Well, I gotta say, the announcer does have a point."

Then, Badger himself spoke as it showed him in a fireplace under the night sky before it showed him climbing a tree and eating a pine cone the next morning.

"The wilderness is my home sweet home. I wasn't born on this Earth just to stay alive. I was born to _be_ alive."

Finally, it showed him on a cliff with the series' title above him as the announcer spoke before a bird cawed and flew above him before turning back.

"Badger in the Wild. Will you answer the call?"

Then, as quickly as the video started, Grizz shut the laptop, making Jessica glare at him.

"Hey! I was gonna show you where I was..."

Before she could finish, Jessica saw the stupefied look on Grizz's face as she spoke out of concern.

"Grizz? What's up?"

With that, Panda and Ice Bear arrived with dumplings and a blue turtleneck sweater with cool glasses and the word 'party' on it as they spoke.

"Hey, bro, you want some microwaveable dumplings? They're fresh."

"Ice Bear put in finishing touches on your turtleneck."

Despite this, Grizz maintained his stupor as she spoke.

"Grizz? Hello? Are you okay?"

"No, Jessica. Everything is clear."

This made Jessica look outside before having an epiphany of her own.

"Yeah. I think you might be right."

* * *

The next hour, Jessica was walking with the bears before they had to split up. Thanks to Badger's video, what Grizz became more determined to live his life the way Mother Nature intended, just as Badger did. However, Jessica got a different effect from the video. What she got out of it was that she should get outside more and appreciate Mother Nature for what it had to offer. Along with that, she was also reminded about how her old friend, Carmen, was going on a camping trip with her brother, Mark. She hadn't seen her since she moved to San Francisco and figured it was time for them to catch up. So, she asked her mother if she could camp with her other friends from before, and her mother graciously (and desperately) accepted. Coincidentally, Grizz had his own idea to bring his brothers into his regime as well. Once they came across a fork in the road, Jessica took the left path while the bears took the right as she spoke to Panda.

"Well, I hope you guys have fun at that picnic."

"Yeah. And I hope you have a good time at that camp."

"Thanks. See you tonight."

"See you."

As she walked, Jessica looked back at the bears and waved to them one last time before noticing a strange look on Grizz's face as she spoke to herself.

"What is Grizz up to? I hope he doesn't go 'Badger' on them."

After that, it took her a while in her walk to find the campsite. But when she did, she saw a car in the area as well as a familiar face from high school.

"Huh? Isn't that...?"

To her surprise, she saw a brown-haired girl with a pink long-sleeved shirt and grey jeans as she noticed her, too.

"Jessie?"

"Carmen?"

Seeing them, the two went to each other in excitement as Jessica spoke.

"It's so great to see you! How've you been?"

"I've been doing great, Jessie. How about you?"

"Well, a lot's happened to me when I moved in. For instance, did you know that Lucy works here in California as a good vendor?"

This made Carmen gasp in excitement before she spoke.

"No way!"

Then, she heard a voice speak to Carmen.

"Hey, Carmen! You mind helping me and my friends out with the tent?"

"Be there in a sec, Mark! But I'm bringing help, if that's okay with you!"

With that, Jessica went along with Carmen to the source of the voice: a boy in a red shirt and jeans before he noticed the two of them in surprise as she spoke to him.

"Hi, Mark. I was told you needed help with the tent?"

With that, the boy began to blush as he spoke nervously.

"Oh, hi. I mean, no! I mean, it's fine. You don't have to..."

As he stammered on, Jessica turned to Carmen as she spoke.

"You knew it was gonna happen, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"Why, Carmen? You know this is the reason we broke up."

"Yeah, but it's still hilarious."

As he stammered, Jessica sighed at Carmen before she placed her hand on his shoulder, making him stop his stammering before she spoke.

"It's alright, Mark. I want to help."

This made Mark shake his face in an attempt to snap out of his stupor before he spoke.

"Oh, uh, okay. I guess you can help with the hammer."

"Cool. Where is it?"

"It's in the truck."

"Thanks."

As she went to the car, his three friends (one in a grey jacket and glasses named Jim, the second in a blue jacket named Todd, and the third in a blue short-sleeved shirt and shorts known as Dan) noticed this before Mark spoke to them.

"What?"

Seeing how he froze in her presence, not to mention her return, Jim spoke to him.

"Geez, Mark. Who was that girl? You froze up like a deer in headlights."

"Oh, yeah. Uh, I've been meaning to introduce you guys. My sister Carmen brought her friend along. We go way back."

Todd felt it was obvious as he spoke.

"Yeah. You told us a long time ago. She's your ex-girlfriend."

This made Mark laugh nervously before he gritted his teeth and spoke to them.

"Stop it, please!"

Seeing him getting worked up, they decided to leave it at that before Jessica spoke up.

"Hey, Mark!"

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Can you unlock the car? These doors aren't letting me in."

"Sure! Uh, no problem."

With that, Mark got out the keys before he made the car beep, and it unlocked, allowing Jessica access to the car and retrieving the hammer.

"Thanks. You know, I'm really sorry about the way Carmen introduced me like that."

Mark only tried to hide his shame as he laughed nervously.

"What? No, it's fine. Really."

Jessica didn't buy this as she spoke in a serious tone.

"Mark. Listen to me. I do like you, as a friend. And... I'm really flattered you're still into me, but a friend is all I can be for right now. So, what do you say? Can't we be friends?"

This made Mark smile as he felt so much weight lifted off of him and spoke.

"Sure. We can do that."

"Great. Now let's get to camping, shall we?"

As Jessica walked away, Jim, Todd, and Dan walked over with a smile as the last two of the group spoke.

"Hey, Mark."

"Everything okay?"

"No. Even better."

* * *

Later on, Jessica and Mark were setting up the tent while Todd and Carmen were bringing out snacks for them to enjoy as Dan and Jim went out for firewood and brought them to a fireplace. By the time they got the fire going, it was getting a bit dark with the sun setting as they sat around the fireplace with Mark holding a set of drums to his lap as he tapped on them, making Jessica feel the rhythm as she spoke.

"Wow, nice beat, Mark. I'm really feeling it."

"Thanks. They were actually a gift from my grandpa. He is a true believer in tradition."

Suddenly, Jessica's phone started buzzing and she got it out, outlaying the schedule for their campout. The time was at 5:00, a time in which the group was supposed to eat their meal. With that, she looked up to Mark as she spoke of the activity that is to take place.

"Looks like we gotta eat."

"Okay. But don't forget we're having a scary campfire story at 6:30."

This made Jenny confused as she spoke to herself and then to Carmen and the others.

"That's weird. I don't think I had that put in. I think I'll remember, but still, better safe than sorry to add it in. You guys should do the same."

"Got it, Jessie."

With that, the group began adding in the scary campfire story activity at 6:30 as a reminder, unaware of a certain Grizzly Bear sneaking towards their food supply.

"Alright, I only need the tiniest bite to survive."

However, contrary to his plan, Grizz only began stuffing himself with the food.

"Oh, so delicious!"

As he stuffed himself, Jessica heard the noises and grew curious as she spoke to Carmen and the others.

"Huh? Is everyone else hearing that?"

"Yeah. I think I hear it, too."

Sure enough, Jessica turned behind her to see Grizz helping himself to the food before she spoke with a frown.

"Oh, guys. Who bear-proofed the food supply?"

Mark spoke for a reply to this as he pointed at Todd.

"Well, Todd did. Why?"

"Well, because a bear just got to the food."

"Huh? Hey!"

As Mark got a pine cone out, Grizz realized what could be happening to his brothers as he widened his eyes.

"Wait. My bros! Gah! I forgot all about them! They must be starving by now!"

As he tried to get the food, he felt a hit from the pine cone on his back, although it only felt like a tap to him.

"Yeah? What's up?"

However, Mark's voice made clear the danger Grizz was in.

"Hey, you! Get away from our food!"

As Mark chucked them at him, Grizz ran away with the food as he spoke.

"I'm just trying to be a good brother!"

Hearing the bear's voice, Jessica realized who the bear was. Considering how Grizz resorted to a task a bear would normally do, Grizz must not have been having any luck in the wild being Badger and his brothers must be facing the consequences of his actions for the worst. As Grizz made a break for the bushes, Jessica stopped Mark as she spoke.

"Whoa, Mark! Stop! Let him go."

"But he took all our food!"

"Not all of it. Look in the basket."

As Dan looked in, he saw that 75% of the food still remained.

"She's right. We still have some food left."

"Yeah. And besides, he's... he's my friend."

"Wait. That thief is your friend?"

"It's a recent development. I'll explain while we eat what's left."

For Jessica, it was completely necessary. She knew how people tend to get when they're hungry, or in her case, hangry. They're usually much more likely to reason with when they're full. As they ate, she explained how she knew the bear and her adventures with him and his brothers. When the sun came down, she'd finally finished her explanation of the reason Grizz was stealing food not too long ago as Mark processed it.

"So, he was after our food to feed his brothers?"

"Well, yeah. At least that's what I imagine."

As a response, the group laughed at her story before Mark spoke up.

"Alright, guys. Chill out. I think her story's cool."

Jessica tried to explain that what happened to her was actually true as she spoke.

"Guys, I'm serious. It wasn't just a story."

"Yeah, sure."

Seeing failure to convince them, and knowing how long they'd take to argue, Jessica only shrugged as she spoke.

"Alright, Fine. Don't believe me. Your loss."

Then, Mark and the others got a reminder on their phones before he spoke.

"Oh, yeah. Speaking of stories, it's time for scary campfire stories! I'll go first."

Jessica felt it wasn't best as he usually tends to go first on everything.

"What? No way! I should go first."

However, Todd came up with a better way to settle it.

"How about Rock, Paper, Scissors? Winner tells first scary story."

Seeing that everyone has a chance, they naturally agreed. When they began playing, Jessica, Carmen, and Mark were tied while Todd and Dan were booted. However, after Jessica won against Carmen with her scissors, she ended up handing the match to Mark at the hands of his rock.

"Oh, man!"

"Well, fair's fair. And I've got a really good story, too. One night, there was a young girl who traveled with her friends to a forest on a camping trip. She'd recently been told a story about the Demon Bear of San Francisco."

Carmen leaned over as she whispered sarcastically.

"A story within a story. Clever."

Jessica gave her a slight bump in the arm as a response before Mark continued.

"She was warned that once every hundred years, it'd wake up from its unholy hibernation, seeking after the blood of anyone it comes across. But she disregarded it as just a story, not having any proof necessary to justify it. So, she went in the forbidden cave where it slept. When she looked, she saw a bear of bones from his past victims used to shelter him for hibernation. As she saw proof of its wanton and murderous activities, her heart beater faster and faster until she felt prickly, jagged fur behind her back. She nervously turned around in fear of what it could be, and right behind her was... a monstrous demon bear!"

At that moment, Grizz ran past the group as he apologized.

"Excuse me. Sorry."

Seeing the anticlimactic part of the story, Jim spoke up.

"Oh, that wasn't so bad."

However, Carmen spoke up as she noticed two bears, one panda and one polar, in a feral state as she spoke.

"Uh, maybe because the demon bears are coming right this way!"

With that, they immediately bolted in a panic as the feral polar bear smashed the campfire and took off after Grizz. As Jessica, Mark, and Carmen hid behind the trees, the feral bears went past them as Jessica realized who the feral bears were.

"Wait a minute. Don't I know them from somewhere?"

As Jessica looked again, she saw Grizz hiding in Mark's car as they swarmed him.

"No, no, no, no! Hey, no!"

As she saw them forcing Grizz into a trap, Jessica gasped as she spoke.

"That's Panda and Ice Bear! They must've gotten so hungry that they went primal!"

The only thing Mark realized from it was that it was similar to his story.

"Just like the demon bear!"

Carmen grew worried about the situation as she spoke to Jessica, who had a look of determination.

"What do we do?"

"Carmen, you and Mark get the others out of here. I'm gonna answer the call."

With that, Jessica took off as Mark grew frightened of what's to occur.

"No, Jessica!"

Carmen only held him back as she spoke.

"She'll be fine, Mark. For now, let's get the others out of here."

As they ran off, Jessica whistles at the bears before she spoke.

"If you want food, then you've got to get to me first!"

With that, they snarled before charging at her, making her take her cue to run as she sped around the trees in hopes of slowing them down, but to no avail. Fortunately, with her head start, she barely got a scratch from Panda's claw as she went in the car from the open top and sat next to Grizz, making him relieved.

"Ah, Jessica! Thank goodness you're here! I need your help! My brothers went crazy because they haven't had anything decent to eat!"

"Yeah, I can see that. What's the plan?"

"We need to get to the nearest Burger Boy, stat!"

Suddenly, the feral bears rocked the car back and forth as Grizz spoke.

"Come on, now, guys! Be good! Be good! Ah, stop that, please! This isn't our car!"

Jessica then got an idea as she got in the driver's seat and took the wheel.

"Hang on, Grizz! I'm driving!"

With that, Jessica took the meter off the parking and started it up as she put her foot on the accelerator and it sped up, much to Grizz's horror as he held back the starving bears.

"Get off!"

"Keep them back, Grizz! We're almost there!"

However, he was unable to maintain it as they broke in and he spoke in panic.

"Hey! No backseat driving!"

As they cane towards a hill, Jessica spoke up as she gave a warning.

"Better put on your seat belt!"

As they went airborne, Grizz screamed in slow motion as he heeded her warning before they landed on the street and went to the drive-through, where the employee of the establishment spoke on the microphone in a monotone voice.

"Welcome to Burger Boy. May I take your order?"

Jessica then rolled up the window before Panda growled at the monitor with Grizz holding them back.

"Okay, so I got one Veggie Boy Burger, one Fish Boy Sandwich with extra mayo, and two Double Meaty Patty Boys, one with just meat and cheese and a side of two sodas and sweet potato fries. Will that be all for you today?"

Panda growled back at her again as a response before she spoke again.

"$19.79, second window."

With that, the car drive up before Jessica rolled up the window and spoke as she handed her the money and took the food.

"Thanks for the fast service, ma'am!"

With that, she drove off as the employee went back to her grind.

"Welcome to Burger Boy—"

At the car, Jessica was only able to park the car before Panda went on top of her, making her nervous as she tried to reason with him.

"Panda, listen to me. It's Jessica. You know me, don't you?"

As Panda looked at her, he began to growl softly before lunging again, making her exclaim a bit before she realized that Panda didn't lunge at her: he lunged at his Veggie Burger inside the bag before Ice Bear went after his Fish Boy Burger and the two end up reverting from their hostilities and back to their normal selves as they took their drinks, making Jessica sigh in relief before Grizz went over to her.

"Hey, Jessica. Listen, I'm really sorry that we interrupted your campout."

Jessica only sighed at him before she spoke to the penitent Grizz.

"Don't apologize to me, Grizz. You should apologize to Mark for taking his food, interrupting the campfire, and stealing the car."

"Oh, yeah. I'll do him one better. I'll leave a note."

"Yeah, you better. But you should also apologize to your brothers. Just because you wanted to live the way Mother Nature intended, that doesn't mean they wanted to. You owe them an apology, too."

At that moment, Panda and Ice Bear went out of the car, drinking their sodas and eating the sweet potato fries as the former spoke.

"Man, Burger Boy always puts the perfect amount of salt in their sweet potato fries."

When he finished with the note, Grizz checked on his brothers after the chaotic night they no doubt had.

"Hey, so, uh, you guys feeling okay?"

Panda grew confused before he turned to Ice Bear and spoke.

"What are you talking about? Do you know what he's talking about?"

As Ice Bear shrugged his shoulders, Grizz went to his brothers' side as he apologized.

"Bros, I'm sorry I tried to turn us into something that we're not. Now, let's get back to our version of the wild, where fish come in stock form and there are froyo cups as far as the eye can see."

"Ice Bear is okay with this."

Then, Grizz spoke to Panda as Jessica watched them go.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna have one fry, Pan—"

Before he could finish, Panda growled at him before he spoke.

"Excuse me."

This only earned Grizz's laugh as Jessica sighed.

"Well, I'm glad to see things work out."

Then, she noticed Mark walking down the road with Carmen, Dan, Jim, and Todd before she spoke to herself and then to her friends.

"Or not. Guys, are you okay?"

Carmen, despite the trauma she went through, was more concerned about her friend.

"Never mind us. What happened? Did the demon bears get you?"

"Guys, it's okay. That was just Panda and Ice Bear in a hunger pain. We were able to fix that with Burger Boy."

Mark then took notice of the note Grizz left saying "Sorry for taking your car" with his signature on the wrapping paper for one of the burgers as Jim contradicted her.

"That can't be true."

Mark, however, knew otherwise as he spoke.

"Actually, guys, I think she's right."

This made the group gasp in surprise as Carmen looked over to her.

"Is that true?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you the whole time, but you guys wouldn't take it seriously."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. So, want to finish our campout?"

This made Jessica answer swiftly after the night they had before she corrected herself.

"No! I mean, no thanks. I should get back home before curfew kicks in. But, it really was fun hanging out with you. Can't wait to do it again sometime."

Jessica then looked to Mark as he replied with a smile.

"Yeah. Me neither. You better tell me more about your friends, though."

"Will do, Mark."

As she walked away, she got a ringing from her phone with several messages from her mother wondering where she was and how worried she was as she hung her head down in defeat.

"Oh, brother."


	10. Jean Jacket

**Chapter 10:** "Jean Jacket"

It began on a Saturday like any other. Jessica was in charge of groceries on Saturdays. But, nowadays, she wishes she could spend a day with friends like any teenager would. Not to say she didn't appreciate the grocery run. She usually finds the best foods at reasonable prices. Jessica was in line with the groceries, not knowing that the Bears were already behind her with a stack of Pizza Bagels, when suddenly, a sound rang out. Jessica turned to see the clerk, as did the Bears.

"Hey, guys! Open on 2!"

When the bears got to the number, Jessica was surprised to see the Bears with that many Pizza Bagels, and even more so to see Ice Bear wearing a Jean Jacket. For whatever the reason, Jessica felt the need to go toward them and allowed the lady behind her to take her spot. When she went behind them, she got their attention.

"Hey, guys!"

The Bears turned to see Jessica.

"Hi, Jessica!"

"So, what's up with the Jean Jacket? It looks good on you guys."

Ice Bear felt he deserved more credit than he got.

"Ice Bear looks best in Jean Jacket."

Panda had an idea and wanted to try it out.

"Hold up. Maybe we should give Jessica a try with this."

Jessica politely tried to refuse.

"Oh, no thanks, guys. Really, I'm..."

However, before she knew it, the Jean Jacket was already on her. She took a look at herself in the Jean Jacket and grew impressed.

"Wow. Not bad."

Just then, she got a message on her phone. It was from Patricia, but it wasn't what she quite thought it was. The text said that she could take a break from the grocery run. That moment on, Jessica's dream came true. She could finally hang out like a teenager would, and it seemed that this Jean Jacket made it possible. Panda tried to get her attention.

"Uh, Jessica?"

"This Jacket... is the best thing... in the whole world."

* * *

Since then, Jessica hung out with the bears. Although, she still clutched onto the groceries since she already got them before she took a break. Nonetheless, she really had fun with them. One example of it was when they were walking across the street and it didn't take long for it to flash a sign that said you could walk. Grizz, Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear then darted across the street as they were laughing. When they got to another sidewalk in front of them, the sign flashed again, allowing them to dance on the street safely again.

* * *

Later, Jessica brought the groceries over to Patricia while the Bears tried on the Jean Jacket in various areas of the forest, surprising her.

"I thought you were taking a break."

"Well, I've actually finished the grocery run when you sent it to me. But I am going to have a picnic."

"Do I even need to ask with who?"

Jessica knew the answer as well as she did.

"Nope."

* * *

At the picnic area, Panda tried to take a selfie with Jessica on the phone whilst wearing the Jean Jacket. After uploading it, Panda got two likes and a comment; one from Haley, one from Kristin, and a comment from Ryan saying "Sweet jacket dude!" Panda and Jessica pumped their fists as they spoke in unison.

"Yes."

* * *

At the streets, Grizz decided to strut his stuff with the Jean Jacket, using the shades to back it up while Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear hung back behind him. Then, Panda wore the Jean Jacket next strutting his stuff as well. When it was Jessica's turn, she walked casually with her hands in the side pockets and had to get one of her hands out of a pocket to brush her hair behind her while doing so. When it was Ice Bear's turn, he just walked in the street normally and waved to a nearby pedestrian.

* * *

Then, back at the forest, Jessica, Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear formed a circle around the jacket and laid each of their heads on top of every quarter of it. Grizz began to imagine the possibilities.

"Mm. This is like the best day of my life. I can't wait to wear the jacket tomorrow for handball practice."

Then, Panda spoke up.

"Wait, hold up. I need to wear the jacket tomorrow. I might run into some girls at the coffee shop. How will I know what to say?"

Jessica grew confused.

"You can talk to me, though."

"Well, of course I can. We're an item."

Then, Ice Bear cleared his throat.

"Ice Bear needs it for everyday hustling."

Grizz felt it unsatisfactory for a Jean Jacket as lucky as this one.

"Come on, man. That's not a good reason."

Then, the bears realized that Jessica didn't speak of getting the Jean Jacket.

"Wait, do you need the Jean Jacket, Jessica?"

Jessica gave them her honest opinion.

"Actually, I don't really need it."

The Bears grew surprised to hear it after all the fun she's had.

"What?!"

"You're kidding, right?"

"But it's super lucky!"

"Ice Bear has never felt so lucky."

"I don't doubt that, but luck didn't really have anything to do with _my_ success. I met you guys on my own, sans Jean Jacket. So I'm cool without it."

Taking that in account, the bears respected her decision.

"Well, okay."

"If that's what you really want, I guess."

"Ice Bear will still respect you as equal."

Just then, thunder rumbled in the sky as the sky turned dark and rain started falling.

"What the...? Rain?"

"The Jacket!"

"Cover it!"

"Keep it safe!"

Then, the bears instinctively covered the jacket while Jessica stayed out in the rain. As she took in the beauty of it, Ice Bear spoke up to Grizz.

"Ice Bear is getting wet."

"It'll be okay as long as the jacket is dry."

Then, Jessica and the bears walked over to locate the cave. As they walked, Panda grew worried for Jessica.

"Aren't you going to get cold?"

"Nah. I got plenty of Vitamin C."

Upon hearing this, Panda relaxed, putting the focus back on the jacket.

* * *

When they got in the cave, the bears became aware of it as Jessica closed the door.

"Oop, we're inside."

Then, the bears broke formation while Jessica went to the bathroom for a towel.

"Here we are, jacket. Welcome home. Our lives are gonna be so great from now on."

"It's the best thing that's ever happened to us."

Ice Bear agreed with it as he brushed the sleeve.

"Ah, I'm so glad we found this!"

Grizz then kissed the Jean Jacket as Jessica returned all dry from the rain.

"Well, it's been a long, lucky day. I'm bushed!"

Then, Panda grew suspicious.

"Hang on a minute! Where are you going?"

Grizz tried to explain, thinking that it wasn't obvious to them.

"Just uh... to my room. With this jacket."

"That's not fair! We have to share it equally. You can't just hog it away in your room!"

Then, Jessica pitched in.

"Well, not like I'm gonna use it, but Panda's right. You can't just have it all to yourself."

"Ice Bear wants to see proof of ownership."

"Well, I was technically the one who found it. So I'm pretty sure I get first dibs."

Panda felt it still wasn't enough.

"No! It's all of ours! Oh, except for Jessica. She said she didn't want it."

"You're dang right, I don't."

"Okay, okay. Geez! Here, I have an idea."

Grizz then looked around the room and found a certain board with an arrow pointing to their names.

"Ah! Found it! Our decision-machine!"

Jessica raised an eyebrow while Panda scowled.

"Decision-machine?"

"Buh! I hate that thing."

Jessica could easily see why. Grizz took up two-thirds of the circle while Panda and Ice Bear took up half of the circle left over. After analyzing it, Jessica knew it was somewhat familiar and looked for it on her phone.

"This little beaut will help us decide who gets the jacket first, fair and square!"

"Ice Bear highly doubts that."

"So do I. Because I found a better decision-machine."

Jessica showed the bears a decision-machine app with Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear each taking up a third of the circle. Grizz felt it was quite the opposite of fair.

"Uh, how is that fair?"

"Because everyone has the same amount of chance. No one has the unfair advantage. So I'll spin the arrow to see who gets the jacket."

With that, Jessica flicked upwards on the phone. And it turned out, whether it was Grizz's board game or the virtual graph, it could've gone either way.

"Huh. And the jacket goes to Grizz."

"Ha ha! Whoo! Probability, am I right?"

Panda still felt that it wasn't fair despite that fair play.

"Thanks!"

"Hang on, Grizz! That wasn't fair, and you know it!"

Panda then stomped over to the bathroom door and banged on it.

"Grizz! Come out of the bathroom! It's our jacket, too!"

Then, Jessica spoke to him next.

"His words, not mine!"

After Panda didn't hear anything, he put his ear in the door.

"Grizz?"

Then, Panda lacked the patience to think.

"I'm going in!"

"No, Panda wait!"

However, when Panda busted the door down, Grizz was just flapping the collar of the jacket up and down with a blank face.

"Huh?"

Jessica felt it to be a bit off.

"Hmm."

Then, Panda cleared his throat.

"It's time to pass the jacket now. You've had it long enough."

"But I'm not done with it!"

"Fair is fair."

Jessica felt miffed. She expected this kind of behavior from a group of toddlers, not Bears. Nonetheless, she dealt with it as Grizz begrudgingly passed the jacket.

"Ugh, fine."

After putting on the jacket, Panda gave a sigh of relief. Jessica still didn't feel like it was a good idea.

"Uh, Panda, I'm not so sure that jacket is safe."

"What are you talking about?"

Then, Grizz spoke to Panda.

"Okay, time's up."

"Aww, come on!"

"No buts!"

Panda groaned as he took it off and gave it to Ice Bear. Then, what Ice Bear did next proved Jessica's suspicions. Ice Bear wrapped his arms around himself and made a break for it. Panda gasped before Grizz shouted, leaving Jessica in the bathroom before she too gave chase.

"Wait! Come back here!"

"Oh, why does it always have to be the quiet ones?!"

Then, Ice Bear easily avoided Grizz and Panda. The last thing she ever wanted was for the bears to end up fighting each other. So, when she found them dog-piling each other in the kitchen, Jessica became consumed with terror.

"Take off the jacket!"

"No! It's mine!"

"Give me the jacket!"

"I look better in it!"

Jessica then put herself in between them to break them up.

"Guys, stop this! You're going insane!"

Then, suddenly, a paw struck Jessica on the face, slamming her onto the fridge, and earning the shocked looks of Grizz and Ice Bear, as well as a look of mortal terror over Panda, especially since he struck the blow. Instinctively, Panda ran over to her.

"Jessica! Are you okay?!"

Panda took a look at her face and noticed a red paw print on her face as well as a tear streamed down her right eye. Upon seeing it, Grizz gasped loudly as she responded wearily.

"Now do you see why it's not safe?"

Grizz took a look at the Jean Jacket as he realized the same thing Jessica had.

"You guys, Jessica's right. We're not wearing this jacket. This jacket is wearing us! We have to get rid of it. Agreed?"

Then, Jessica, Panda, and Ice Bear nodded solemnly. They found a green trash bag and stuffed the jacket in it before putting it in the recyclable trash can.

* * *

Once they did, they felt their lives going back to normal already.

"Frankly, I'm glad we chose to get rid of it, guys."

"Me too. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, they always say."

"Yeah, we don't need it."

Although, Panda still felt bad about what he did to her.

"Jessica, I'm really sorry for slapping you."

Jessica thought nothing of it and shrugged it off.

"It's alright, Panda. That wasn't your fault. It was the jacket. I'm just glad it's all over."

Then, Grizz burned his tongue with the hot chocolate poured by Grizz.

"Ahh! I think I just burned my taste buds off."

Jessica giggled at the slightly embarrassing misfortune before someone knocked on the door outside, drawing Grizz's attention.

"Huh?"

When he opened the door, he found a Pizza Delivery guy outside.

"Uh... Hi, may I help you, sir?"

"Yeah, I have the three extra large, double meaty pizzas you ordered."

"I didn't order pizza."

"Uh... I dunno. They're free. Just take them."

Grizz felt happy about it.

"What? Really? Gee, thank you."

"No problem. Oh, hey I found something on your front lawn. Is this your jacket? It's super-cool."

After recognizing the jacket, Grizz gasped in horror.

"Here you go. Have a nice day."

After getting the Jean Jacket, Grizz came back with the pizza and the jacket.

"Um, it came back you guys."

Panda, Ice Bear, and Jessica instantly grew fearful.

"It's like it's drawn to us."

"Just like the Lord of the Rings."

"Jean Jacket is mean jacket."

"Now, what do we do?"

"Whatever we do, we can't give into -"

However, Grizz was already eating the pizza.

"G-Grizz!"

"What?"

Jessica and Panda the need to explain to him the concept of the situation.

"You can't eat that."

"By eating that pizza, you're accepting this evil thing's gift."

Grizz realized his error and corrected it by setting it down.

"Aah! You're right. We've got to get rid of that thing."

"But how?"

As if making an answer, Ice Bear grabbed the Jean Jacket and tossed it out of the window only for it to flip around and head back inside the house as lightning struck and flew random postcards into the cave. Jessica and Panda took a look at what the Jean Jacket brought.

"It's a bunch of... dance class coupons?"

"Who here would want something like that?"

Jessica turned to Ice Bear who had widened eyes before snapping himself out of it. Panda was becoming very determined to stop the jacket.

"Ugh! Enough of this!"

Panda grabbed the jacket and chucked it into the toilet.

"Be gone!"

After flushing it, it seemed to have worked.

"Phew!"

However, the jacket returned, surprising Panda.

"Wha-?"

Panda then felt his phone vibrate and saw that he has 14 date messages. However, because he was with Jessica, he saw through its ruse and began to reprimand the jacket in desperate, angry abandon as Grizz, Ice Bear, and Jessica held him back.

"Stop it! No, stop it!"

Panda then sobbed on Jessica's shirt as he began to be truly frightened of what it could make him do.

"This jacket is haunting us."

Jessica, wanted to know the proper solution for ending it, for Panda's sake.

"How do we end this?"

"Guys, it's clear. We must return the jacket from whence it came."

"Do you even know where you found it?"

Grizz nodded to her determinedly.

* * *

Then, out in the rain, Grizz, Panda, Ice Bear, and Jessica (who was wearing her own blue jacket) walked toward the former prison of the jacket. As they did so, they walked by the vending machines causing a can of soda to fall down each of the soda machines and for the snacks caused a whole bag of snacks to fall down. Nonetheless, they persisted. Then, they walked by the Cupcake Cafe, where the owner was selling out cupcakes.

"Hey, free cupcakes. Special one time offer. They're completely free."

Then, they walked by a retailed coat store where the owner of that store was handing them out as well.

"Vintage period coats. 16th, 17th, 18th centuries."

Jessica felt herself being tempted herself and clutched onto Panda for support.

"T-The jacket. It's calling me now..."

Grizz tried to snap her out of it as they pressed on.

"We have to resist the siren songs of this evil jacket! Come on!"

Finally, they reached the resting place of the Jean Jacket, though it's not resting anymore as it shook about, mainly from the wind.

"There it is."

Jessica made a face of disgust from realizing that she'd actually worn something from the trash receptacle.

"Ew!"

"All right, guys. On three. One... Two... Three!"

However, when they tried to shove it in there, the jacket began to fly on its own and swung on the No Parking sign, hurtling itself towards them. However, they were able to dodge it altogether. Jessica was becoming more and more surprised.

"How is it doing that?!"

"Grab it!"

Ice Bear made a break for it first, only to trip up. Then, Panda tried to catch it, but tripped up as well. Just as the jacket was about to slap Panda in his bun, Jessica got in the way and ended up being slapped where her previous slap was, earning Panda's concern.

"Jessica!"

Jessica, thankfully wasn't as hurt as she replied back to him.

"I-I'm okay!"

Then, the jacket made a break for a Grizz, who ran toward the receptacle, only for the jacket to force itself on him. Panda, Ice Bear, and Jessica looked on as Grizz's mind began to be corrupted again.

"Grizz!"

"The jacket. It - it chose me. I must protect it. It wants me. It's mine!"

Panda then snapped him out of it by helping him think back to what happened at the cave.

"Grizz, no! Remember what it did to us."

Grizz's crazed smile then went back to a concerned and conflicted face.

"You're right. I - I can't think clearly."

"It's the jacket. It won't release us. There's nothing we can do."

Except one thing. And Grizz was more than willing to make the sacrifice in order for the others' lives to be better off.

"No. There is something I can do. Forgive me, guys."

Jessica got the sense in what he was going to do, but knew that he would survive this.

"Alright, Grizz."

However, Panda didn't and grew concerned.

"Wait! What're you doing?!"

"I love you guys."

With that, Grizz took off for the receptacle.

"No! Grizz, stop! Don't do it!"

Jessica then held Panda back.

"No, Panda. It's what he wants."

Then, Grizz deliberately shoved himself in the receptacle. Once he did, the once dark sky returned to normal as the sun rose again. Then, a sheet music of "Be Funky and Fresh" landed on Jessica's hands. He must've been working on this before this whole fiasco started. Panda then felt sadness overcome him.

"At least his music will live on."

As Panda exerted his sad tears onto Jessica's shirt, Jessica exerted her faith in Grizz's return.

"I miss him so much."

"Don't worry, Pan. I know Grizz will come back. He has to."

Believe it or not, Jessica was spot-on as a groan came from the receptacle.

"Huh?"

Then, Grizz was able to show himself from the receptacle as he fell to the sidewalk.

"I knew it!"

"Grizz!"

Panda, Ice Bear, and Jessica immediately ran over to Grizz and helped him up.

"Grizz, we thought you were a goner."

"I never lost hope that you'd come back. Mostly because it was just a trash receptacle."

"Ice Bear cried, but just inside."

"What happened in there?"

"Doesn't matter. That jacket will never bother us again. Let's go home."

Then, Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear carried Grizz with their arms.

"Well, I'm just glad things will finally be back to normal."

"Me, too, guys. Me, too."

Then, the stoplight changed to yellow and red rapidly before a person on a motorized scooter shouted at them.

"Get out of my way."

Jessica sighed as she realized that she has a very long walk ahead of her before heading back home, and after the whole incident, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Well, at least I'll have a story to tell Sam."


	11. Nom Nom

**Chapter 11:** "Nom Nom"

At the cave, Ice Bear was preparing a delicious breakfast in a proper setting as he moved the blinds and vacuumed the floor before setting up a plate of buttered flapjacks with strawberries and maple syrup, toast with eggs, croutons, and bacon, accompanied by ketchup, and finally, a laptop set to watch cat videos of the day. Ice Bear would've made a certain guest's breakfast, but she usually tends to eat beforehand, so all that was left for him was to wait as he took a sip of tea before Grizz and Panda arrived groggily as they were still barely awake. As they sat down, a knock on the door case before Ice Bear set down his cup and went over to the door before he opened it, seeing Jessica at the front door.

"Hi, Ice."

"Hello, Jessica."

Jessica then leaned into Ice Bear's ear as she whispered.

"Listen, about what happened between us and Barry, you're not gonna tell your brothers about that, are you?"

Ice Bear saw no need to worry as he put her worries to rest.

"Ice Bear's lips are sealed."

"Phew. Okay. Thank you. I just don't know if they can handle that, you know?"

With that, Jessica walked into the kitchen to see Panda and Grizz as she went over to them and waved.

"Hey, guys."

Upon hearing her voice, the groggy Panda stirred from his sleepy daze and looked at her.

"Oh! Hey, Jessica. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just a normal routine."

As she smiled, Grizz unintentionally made her morning sour at the mention of a certain koala.

"Ooh! Guys, there's a new Nom Nom video!"

This earned a soft groan from Jessica before she and Panda spoke.

"Not him again... Grizz, how could you watch his videos after what he just put you through?"

"Isn't that the koala who threw you out of his limo? That guy's a butt."

"He's worse than a butt. He's a self-centered egotist who gives butts a bad name."

Despite this, Grizz still felt enthusiastic.

"Well, yeah, I don't like him personally, but I still love his videos."

Jessica felt it was contradictory as she frowned.

"Do you even hear yourself right now?"

"Just watch."

With that, Grizz played a video of Nom Nom sniffing a lemon before putting his tongue on it, making his eyes widen before tears escaped from his face and tossed the lemon away before falling off of the chair.

"Ewww! Ba-ba-ba-ba-boo."

Seeing this, Grizz laughed hard at it while Panda grew a bit satisfied while Jessica maintained her displeased look and Ice Bear sniffed a scoff.

"So cute, right?"

"Yeah, actually that wasn't bad."

"Big deal. If Nom Nom actually flips out and someone records it, then I'll be impressed."

"Ice Bear feels your pain."

Then, Panda noticed another video of Nom Nom as he spoke to Grizz.

"What's that one on the side there?"

"Uh, hmm, I don't know. Let's see."

At that moment, Grizz clicked on it before it showed Nom Nom's angry face on a video as he read the title.

"Epic blow-up."

As Grizz clicked on it, he began to see the video play with a girl in glasses giving the news as the title "Mornings with Marie" went on the screen before it showed her debuting footage of Nom Nom flipping out.

"Good morning, internet. Have I got the scoop for you. Internet superstar, Nom Nom, blows up at fans when the book signing gets a little out of hand."

"Boom! That should do it! You're welcome! No more book signing for any—"

This made Grizz and Panda concerned as Jessica widened her eyes in surprise.

"Oh, my gosh?"

"Geez."

"Okay. I'm impressed."

"Looks like our favorite koala isn't quite as cute as we thought he was."

The next footage then showed Nom Nom in an interview as he spoke.

"Well, I don't even think I need to explain myself. I was totally in the right and—"

However, when he heard a man in the audience cough, he assumed the worst and spoke.

"Wait, who laughed? Who's laughing at me? ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME?!"

Stressed out, the host tried to calm him down, but it was in vain as he took off his wire and stormed off.

"Nom Nom, no one's—"

"Alright! That's it! Get this stupid thing off me!"

Then, Marie debuted another footage of him walking up the stairs.

"This response video went up on Nom Nom's channel just last night."

"I keep hearing the word 'diva' thrown around, but that's just not true. I've got responsibilities like everyone else. Oh! Looks like it's time to feed my pets."

However, his kind of pets weren't the ones you'd normally expect. His pets were sharks. Nom Nom pushed a button on the remote to make the sharks go after the steak he got out before they went after it and fought over it, up until Nom Nom pushed the button again, making them docile as they went over to him as he petted them.

"Good doggy."

Then, it showed Nom Nom walking on the sidewalk, increasingly becoming agitated as the camera trained on him while Maria spoke before he tossed his soda at the camera.

"I think it's clear that our favorite marsupial's career..."

"Argh! Go away!"

"...is all washed up. And that's it for today. Don't forget to like, comment, or favorite—"

Before she could finish, Grizz paused the video as he spoke.

"Ugh, enough. This is terrible. Poor guy. He just wanted to make great art. The pitfalls of being a creative genius."

Jessica saw this as good news as she gave herself a fist pump.

"About time Nom Nom got what he deserved."

This made Panda question her as she seemed too satisfied with Nom Nom's shortcoming.

"How can you say that?"

"Uh, very easily, Pan-Pan. He's not exactly the greatest guy in the world. Didn't you just see his blow-up?"

Panda then got his phone to reveal a video of her own blow-up, which just so happened to be next to Nom Nom's.

"Well, I saw _your_ blow-up from before, and you seemed fine to me."

This made Jessica widen her eyes and squeak in surprise as her blush came before she spoke defensively and in a high pitched voice.

"You swore you wouldn't bring that up!"

This confused the other bears as Panda realized that he went out of line before he and Grizz spoke.

"Oh! Sorry. I forgot."

"Wait, what?"

To catch them off guard, Jessica began clearing her throat nervously.

"Anyway, that's beside the point. People don't just change overnight. I certainly haven't."

Just then, a knocking came on the door as Grizz spoke.

"Oh! That's probably the thing I ordered."

Jessica then went over to the door as she let the bears know.

"I'll go check the door."

"It's this really cool RC helicopter and it flies really high and has little blinky lights—"

When Jessica opened the door, she saw a depressed Nom Nom clutching onto a bottle of Eucalyptus Pop before she widened her eyes in surprise.

"Uhhh..."

Immediately, she slammed the door and leaned her back against the wall, trying to sort her mind out before Ice Bear walked over and tried to open the door as she spoke.

"Don't. Open. The door."

However, it was too late as Ice Bear noticed him before he looked at him in his squalor condition before shutting the door on him next as Jessica spoke.

"Am I going crazy, or did I really just see Nom Nom on the front porch?"

"Ice Bear wishes you were crazy."

Then, Grizz came along next as he spoke and checked Ice Bear's arm for the package before he went over to the door, much to Jessica's chagrin.

"Hey, was it my package? Where is it?"

"Grizz, I wouldn't—"

"It's rude to shut the door on the mailman, you... kno-o-o-ow! Oh, my gosh! It's Nom Nom!"

"Um, hey, friend. Do— Do you remember me?"

Jessica only glared at him as she spoke.

"Oh, I remember, alright. That's why I'm doing this."

As Jessica reached for the door, Panda stopped her before he spoke.

"What're you doing here?"

"I was, uh... you know, just in the area. And I thought, 'hey, why not stop by and say hi since all my other friends are gone, and my job, and...'"

Jessica raised an eyebrow at this as she spoke.

"I thought you didn't need any friends."

"Oh, well, things change in a few weeks. One minute, you've got it all. What am I now?"

As he began crying, Grizz felt sympathy towards him.

"Oh, you poor little cabbage. You should just stay with us, man! We got plenty of room."

Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear voted against it, however.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? This guy's a butt, remember?"

"Yeah. Do you really want to let _him_ of all people in?"

"Ice Bear hates butts. And egotists."

"No, no, you guys are right. I... I wouldn't let me in, either. I mean, who would want a... GIANT LOSER IN THEIR HOUSE?!"

In his fit of depression, Nom Nom began chugging what's left of his soda, disgusting Jessica as Grizz spoke.

"Come on in, buddy. Let's get you fixed up."

As Grizz took him inside like a swaddled baby, Jessica looked to Ice Bear, who picked up the empty soda bottles.

"You don't really trust him, do you?"

Ice Bear shook his head as an answer.

"Good. Me neither."

* * *

In the cave, Grizz set up pillows a blanket, and hot chocolate for Nom Nom as he spoke.

"How are you, man? You holding up?"

"I was just trying to make people laugh. Why, world?! What has Nom Nom ever done to you?"

As he said this, Jessica began tensing in anger before Ice Bear urged her to keep her temper in check as he brought the cookies over to the crying Nom Nom, who quickly changed his behavior.

"Ahem. You can just set those down right there, yep."

Then, he resumed his crying as Ice Bear gave a disapproving look and Grizz comforted him.

"Aw, it's probably not as bad as you think, buddy."

"No, no, you don't get it. I'm alone in this world. No one will ever make videos of me anymore."

As Nom Nom took a sip from his hot chocolate, Grizz tried to cheer him up.

"Don't say that. You just need a new angle. Show people a different side of yourself. The good side."

Jessica basically called it impossible as she made a comment.

"Uh, what good side?"

Despite this, Nom Nom grew hopeful.

"Do you really think that could work? But, oh, my crew's all gone. I don't know how to make videos without them."

Grizz scoffed at this news as he spoke.

"You don't need that old crew. You've got us! Right, guys?"

Panda was a bit hesitant as Ice Bear and Jessica made their decision clear.

"Uh, yeah."

"Nope. After what he's done to me, I think you know my answer."

"Ice Bear wants no part of this."

Nom Nom quickly interjected with an idea of his own.

"Ooh! What-what if we did something fresh? What if... I dunno... we made a movie?"

As Nom Nom got his confidence back, he pointed to Grizz, Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear as he gave them jobs.

"Yes, I see it! You, you can be our director."

Grizz inhaled at this as he spoke.

"It would be an honor."

"And, you, you can be my social media guy."

"What? That's not very exciting."

"Yeah, you know what? You're right. Most of my fan base is just girls anyway, so I guess—"

However, Panda piped up without thinking as he spoke.

"I'm in!"

This made Jessica upset as she agreed to be Panda's girlfriend. The fact that he jumped the gun so quickly made her lose her nerves.

"Et tu, Panda?"

Having realized what he just did, Panda tried to explain as he spoke.

"Calm down, Jessica. I'm not replacing you or anything. I just—"

"No, Panda. Just— just don't talk to me right now, okay? I need some space for a while."

With that, Jessica and Ice Bear exited the room, leaving Panda filled with momentary guilt before he felt it best to heed her as Nom Nom spoke.

"Oh, there they go."

"Ah, don't worry about them. We can do the movie with just us."

"Alright, let's do this. Let's make this movie."

"Oh, this is gonna be amazing."

"Let's make a movie!"

As Grizz and Panda grew excited, Jessica only made a scoff as Ice Bear walked away.

* * *

As step one of the plan, Grizz was discussing with Nom Nom about scenes that would take place in the movie with the plot of the beginning being a mystery while the middle was a pool party and the ending was a kissing scene. Nom Nom didn't really approve the ending as he shook his head before Grizz changed the ending to explosions, making Nom Nom happy as he held his arms up before Grizz followed suit.

 ** _Come and feel me_**

 ** _I like where this is going_**

 ** _This old man named Tony_**

 ** _Well, he's_ _a_ _bad, bad man_**

Next, it showed Panda drawing Nom Nom as he corrected him before Panda nodded in acknowledgement before clearing the table of his previous drawings away, and coincidentally knocking them all over Ice Bear, who was sweeping the floor with a dust pan.

 ** _And he taught me how to twist_**

 ** _Like I'm in the quicksand, yeah_**

 ** _Can you feel me_**

Later, it showed Nom Nom in the kitchen, looking for a mug to make hot chocolate with before he put it in the machine that produced the desired liquid just as Jessica came in with her dishes before noticing him with a look of confusion over her face before Non Nom acted like it was no big deal as he looked at her and took a sip, sensing the awkwardness of the situation before he went out of the kitchen.

 ** _Ain't no thang what I've been doing (shoop, shoop)_**

 ** _Just waving my arms like this (shoop, shoop)_**

 ** _And shaking my hips like that_**

Even later afterward, it showed Grizz, Nom Nom, and Panda editing a model of the koala with different suits, one that had him in underwear, one of him in a tuxedo, one of him in a fancy spanish outfit with a mustache, and an England suit with a black jacket, red puffy pants, white sleeves and a white collar as they grew pleased with the results just as Ice Bear came in, catching their attention as they looked to him, making the situation awkward before he walked out and they went back to business.

 ** _Watch me go now_**

 ** _I can do the sprinkler_**

 ** _Wipe the dirt off my shoulder_**

 ** _A_ _-running man right to you, baby_**

 ** _Then I'll hustle right on, right on_**

* * *

When it came dinner time, Jessica and Ice Bear went in the kitchen just as Nom Nom spoke to the bears while presenting oyster-like crackers.

"You boys are in to a treat. I've really outdone myself."

With that, the bears are his snacks and grew pleased with the taste.

"Mmm. Oh! Delicious. Mmm!"

"You have such a talent."

"Make this for us every night."

As they ate, Jessica glared at Nom Non in suspicion as well as Ice Bear before Grizz made a request.

"Oh, hey, uh, can somebody get me ketchup? I mean it's great and everything, I just really like ketchup."

Jessica spoke up as she went over to the fridge.

"I'll get it for you."

As she picked up the ketchup, however, Nom Nom's hand did the same as they engaged in an escalating tug of war, with neither one willing to give up the ketchup as the bears watched. When Jessica got the ketchup, Nom Nom, still clutched onto it before she quickly got frustrated and snapped.

"Let go!"

As a result, however, she flung Nom Nom to the wall with a squeak before he landed on the ground, making herself and the bears gasp while Ice Bear stood unfazed by this.

"Oh, no..."

"Why, sister?"

Immediately, the bears went over to him and hugged him to help him recover as Jessica put down the ketchup and tried to help. He may have been a jerk to her, but even he didn't deserve that.

"Oh, no!"

"Nom Nom!"

"Poor little guy!"

"Shh, shh, shh, shh. It's okay."

"I am so sorry, Nom Nom. Let me try to—"

But before she could attempt to help, however, Grizz began to reprimand at her.

"How could you do that?"

Caught off guard by his sudden temper, Jessica tried to explain.

"No! Grizz, I didn't mean to—"

"How could you hurt anything that cute?"

"You're a monster!"

Having been told this, Jessica grew very hurt as she had a shocked look on her face. He had to know she didn't mean it, but he said it anyway. And as if that weren't enough, Nom Nom smiled and winked at her, instantly making her lose it before Jessica made history repeat itself and blew up at them, specifically to Panda.

"Okay, that's it! I've done nothing but try to be supportive of you all day! And what did I get in return?! You showed them my blow up video, you jumped the gun on those other girls, and worst of all, you called me a monster! What did I ever do to deserve this?! What did I ever do to you...?"

As Jessica began to shed tears, Panda tried to comfort her as he spoke, but in vain as her wound was too raw for her to listen.

"Jessica..."

"No, Panda! If that's how you really feel about me, then we're done! Over! Finished!"

Struck by those words himself, Panda gasped in shock as she ran out of the cave in tears as he looked to Ice Bear, who only shook his head at him in disapproval before he went inside the fridge, making Panda feel even more guilty than he did this morning. In fact, it's stay with him this time. Perhaps even to the grave. Seeing the hurt on Panda's face, Grizz spoke softly to him.

"Hey. You okay, Pan-Pan?"

Panda, trying not to look weak, only buried that guilt as he spoke, trying to hide the tear coming out of his face.

"I'm just fine."

* * *

At her house, Jessica cried on her bed, remembering what Panda did to her as she replayed it in her head over and over again. As she cried, though, Patricia knocked on the door, trying to check up on her. However, Jessica wasn't in the mood to talk as she spoke.

"Please go away. I'm not in the mood."

"You haven't eaten anything since lunch. I need to know what's going on."

"I SAID GO AWAY!"

As she shouted, Jessica resumed her crying, much to her mother's frustration. She hadn't cried this much since... Nom Nom. As she remembered that, Patricia thought she figured it out.

"This is about Nom Nom, isn't it?"

"What part of 'leave me alone' don't you understand, mom?!"

That sort of reply guaranteed the answer as she spoke.

"Yeah, it's definitely Nom Nom."

However, Jessica knew she was wrong as she spoke.

"No, Mom. It's— He was there, but it's not like that."

"Then what happened? I've got all day to try to figure out what's going on, but you don't. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. For your sake, pick the easy way."

Frustrated with not getting the space she wanted, Jessica knew from experience that her mother would just keep prattling on and on, trying to figure out what's wrong. But she's got a life to live, and she also knew that she wouldn't care unless she found out what was wrong. Finally, she was forced to concede.

"Okay, can— can you come in, please?"

Patricia smiled, knowing victory was hers as she opened the door, seeing Jessica with her red face and tears staining it as she sat down.

"Oh, honey. What happened?"

"Well, this morning, we saw a video of Nom Nom blowing up at fans."

"Yikes. I'm guessing that didn't go so well for him."

"Nope. And that didn't work out for us, either. Because not long after we saw it, he actually came to our doorstep and begged us to help him. Of course, Ice and I refused, but Panda and Grizz insisted on helping him. Then, at dinner, we fought over a bottle of ketchup, I chucked him to the wall, and I didn't even mean to. Then, Panda got mad at me, and... and then we broke up."

Jessica sniffled at the morbid memory as Patricia felt bad for her daughter.

"Oh... well, maybe he didn't mean it. I mean, he didn't seem like the type to call it off."

"Mom, he didn't break up with me. I'm the one who called it off."

"Oh, that makes more sense. Well, did _you_ mean it?"

"I don't know. I was just so mad. But even if I didn't, what does that matter? Panda's probably crying himself to sleep tonight and it's all my fault."

"So, you're sure it wasn't Nom Nom?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Mom. And I'm really surprised it wasn't."

Knowing how hostile she usually was around Nom Nom, Patricia tried to figure out how it all went so wrong.

"Hmm... tell me something. Did you say the things you said when Nom Nom was around?"

"Yeah, but... wait. It _was_ his fault!"

"No, Jessica. You were right the first time. It wasn't him."

"What? Then, what was the point of—"

"The truth is, you're the one who let Nom Nom make you angry. And I can't blame you, but the fact that you haven't forgiven him for what he did easily led to you blowing up again."

"So, what are you saying? That I should forgive him? He ruined my life, mom!"

"Yes, he did. But whether he aims to or not, he's going to do it again if you don't let it go. And that's no threat. Because it's already happened before. Do you really want it to happen the second time around?"

Normally, she would've questioned her on forgiving their enemies, but feeling the sting from breaking up with him when she never wanted to in the first place was more than enough of a good example of what happens if she doesn't. So, desperate to try to patch up their broken relationship (and to get Nom Nom out of her life humanely), Jessica nodded to her.

"Okay. I'll try. But I can't make any promises."

"It's a good thing I can."

"Huh? And how are you gonna do that?"

"That depends. Where did they say they're making this movie?"

* * *

The next morning, Jessica, Patricia, and Sam were at a pool place in the forest area as the older daughter had a red swim top with the word "swim" on it and black swim shorts, the toddler in red swim trunks, and Patricia in a blue swimsuit as Jessica blushed at this.

"Do we really have to be here, Mom?"

"Yes. For one, Sam's been a good sport this week and has earned the right to pick a pool place."

This was made evident as Sam pumped his fists.

"So cool..."

"And secondly, you're going to patch up with Panda, and that's that."

This made Jessica impressed and confused at her resolve.

"Wow. To think that you usually do everything you can to keep me from having a boyfriend."

"Yeah, I know. I never thought I'd be doing this, either. Now go find him and make it right."

Forgetting about the embarrassment of how it'd go, and remembering how her mother forsook her usual plans to keep her boyfriend-free, Jessica smiled at her as she spoke.

"Thanks, Mom."

Just then, Jessica noticed Grizz and Panda walking with Nom Nom out of the changing room as he showed them around.

"Well, here we are! Welcome to the movie set, boys. And everyone you see here is an extra in the movie."

"Wow!"

Seeing them, Jessica saw the opportunity and felt the sweat coming on.

"There he is. Okay... keep it together, Jessie."

As she tried to work up the nerve, Panda grew curious about a certain detail.

"Uh, where are the cameras?"

"Oh, they're hidden everywhere. It'll help you with your acting."

This caught Grizz by surprise as he spoke.

"Wait, what? We're acting?"

"Oh, we get to be in the movie?"

"Oops, did I forget to mention that?"

This made Panda and Grizz excited as Jessica finally got the courage to speak.

"Panda!"

Hearing her voice, Panda looked at her and immediately froze just as she did and Grizz saw the atmosphere as he himself saw how Jessica blew up the night before.

"Well, uh..."

With that, Grizz scooted Panda towards Jessica as he spoke.

"I think it's time you guys had a talk. Right? Right."

Seeing the cue to take off, Grizz acted on it as he backed up with the two of them too nervous to make the first move.

"Uh... hi."

"Hi."

Already sending the awkwardness, Jessica tried to cut to the chase as she spoke.

"Panda, listen. I'm so sorry about what I said to you last night. I never wanted to break up with you, really. I was just so mad, and I..."

"Hey, hey. It's okay. I know you didn't really mean that. But honestly, I think you made your point."

"Did I hurt you too bad?"

"Oh, no. You didn't even make me cry on the bed for the whole night..."

Reading this, Jessica translated it and knew that Panda was doing that since she took off and felt bad about it.

"Oh, no. I'm so sorry, Panda."

"No, Jessica. I'm the one who should be sorry. I knew you were trying to keep an open mind..."

"Well, not really. I still didn't like him."

"Well, still, I made things difficult. And I'm really sorry. Especially with that monster comment. That one was way out of line. So... we're good?"

Jessica, much to Panda's relief, hugged him as she spoke.

"Yeah. We're good. And we're still together."

This made Panda happy as he pumped his fist and spoke to himself.

"Yes."

Once they finished the hug, Jessica heard Nom Nom speaking to Grizz.

"And remember, your characters are in distress. Here's your costumes and props. Put 'em on and get in your places."

Realizing that she's being a bit distracting to Panda, Jessica ceased the hugging and spoke to Panda.

"Well... good luck."

"Thanks."

With that, Jessica went over to the chair where her mother was before she sat down and she spoke to her daughter.

"Well, how did it go?"

"Better than I thought. Thanks, Mom."

At that moment, Jessica and Patricia saw Sam going to the slide with Nom Nom standing by it before he spoke his disappointment.

"Aw, man. Why is the slide closed?"

As an answer, Nom Nom used his notepad as a fan to shoo him away.

"Scram! Go swim in chlorine with your eyes open."

As Sam went back to her, Patricia made a glare of her own as she spoke.

"I can see why you're not able to forgive him."

"I know, right? He's just the worst."

Then, Sam went over to Jessica as he spoke.

"Jessie, why was he so mean?"

"Welcome to my world."

This made Jessica confused. How could Nom Nom be mean if he's lost his job. He never acted that way at the cave.

"Although... why would he act that way if he lost everything? You'd think he learned his lesson."

Patricia then spoke up to Jessica.

"Well, you still need to forgive him. I don't like it any more than you do anymore, but you still need to let it go. For your own sake."

Jessica only groaned before reminding herself to keep a cool head as she took a deep breath.

"Okay."

With that, Jessica began to walk over to the slide just as Nom Nom went over to the lifeguard's tower as she took notice and grew puzzled.

"Huh. I didn't know Nom Nom was a lifeguard."

At that moment, he spoke to the bears.

"Okay, guys, ready? And... action!"

This made Jessica remember that they were working on a movie and that Nom Nom was only up there to give a cue sign to the bears, which began acting as they splashed in the pool.

"Save me! Oh, no!"

"Oh, no, the water is drowning us. Help, quick!"

Nom Nom then spoke to the audience.

"Attention, everyone! Can you all focus your attention on the drowning bears, please."

At Nom Nom's request, they all did so as Panda and Grizz resumed.

"I am drowning currently!"

"I can feel the water filling up my tummy."

Jessica didn't really see any sign of danger with them as they were just acting.

"Eh."

As she walked away, though, she realized she was going in the wrong direction as she caught herself.

"Whoops. Wrong direction."

When Jessica turned around, though, she saw a certain remote that Nom Nom clicked on. That's when it hit her. It was the same remote that Nom Nom used to control his pet sharks on the video. And that one time he pressed it, it glowed red. Which means... Jessica began to realize the horror of the situation as two sharks went down the slide toward the bears as the crowd noticed.

"Oh, no."

"What's that?"

When the sharks got in, the people in the pool began to panic as they saw the recognizable dorsal fins.

"It's a shark!"

As the sharks closed in, the people panicked and went out of the pool while Grizz and Panda remained behind.

"Everyone's playing their part so well."

"Those bears are still in the water!"

Then, Jessica glared at the chuckling Nom Nom as she realized his plan and was about to call him out before he spoke on the megaphone.

"Oh, look, everyone! It's Nom Nom!"

At that moment, Nom Nom ditched the megaphone and got out a swim board for him to use as he took to the pool and swam to the bears, who quickly began questioning the reality of the situation.

"Why are all the extras out of the pool?"

"Is that special effects?"

As an answer to Grizz's question, one of the sharks jumped up from the water before it took his pool floaty, making Grizz realize the truth.

"Uh, that felt real."

Jessica then shouted to them as they looked over to her.

"That's because they are real! Nom Nom was using you for shark bait!"

Upon hearing this news, the bears began to panic as Jessica looked around for a certain bear.

"OMG! It's a shark!"

"Ice Bear! Where are—? Oh, right. I should've known he wouldn't be here."

Seeing that he wasn't here, Jessica took matters to her own hands as she went to the slide while Nom Nom pushed a button on the remote, turning the sharks docile as the collars around the did the work as the crowd took notice.

"Nom Nom is saving them!"

"He's a hero!"

Jessica then got the picture of what he meant to do. He was using them the whole time just to get his popularity back up on the rise. And knowing him, he could care less about the bears.

"That jerk! He's gonna pay for this!"

As she went up the slide, Nom Nom spoke to the distressed bears.

"Bears, remain calm. I'm—"

Before he could finish, Grizz felt an onset of anger towards Nom Nom, knowing that he used them as Jessica said not too long ago as he shook the malignant marsupial.

"Why did you set us up, huh?! Why?!"

As Grizz shook him viciously, Nom Nom was losing grip on his remote that controlled the sharks.

"What are you doing? Stop!"

Unfortunately, the remote slipped out of his paws and into the water, shifting out before the sharks resumed their usual feral behavior, making the group panic as Jessica watched in horror.

"Help!"

"Eat them first! I'm small and bony!"

Seeing their danger, Jessica grew concerned as she looked at the sharks and then to her family, with the mother speaking to her.

"Jessica, don't go in there!"

"Sorry, mom, but I have to."

Jessica then put her hands together and felt the fear of being eaten kicking in as she willed herself again to save them.

"Oh, Nom Nom, if I get eaten, so help me, I'll never forgive you!"

With that, she lunged into the slide and went into the pool, much to the sharks' increased agitation as they had so little space to hold them. Upon noticing her, they immediately took off after Jessie, who took a deep breath before she went underwater and waited for the right moment to take off as they headed towards her. Right when they would've eaten her, Jessica used her legs to thrust before the sharks only ended up hitting the side of the pool, their snouts stuck in the holes they made with the force of them making adent as Jessica swam over to the group as she coughed before Panda spoke.

"Thanks, Jessica!"

"Hey, anything for my bae."

Nom Nom was the only one who wasn't happy with it.

"No, no, no! You're ruining my video! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Any other time, she would've knocked him off and fed him to the sharks, but with other people watching, especially her own mother, she remembered what she was told to do before noticing the sharks starting to break free as she tried to swim them to safety, but was unable to as the pool floaty was becoming too heavy as it supported two bears and a koala.

"Listen, Nom Nom. However this ends, I want you to know that I..."

"What? What is it?"

"I... I..."

"You what? Come on! Spit it out already!"

"I forgive you!"

Hearing Jessica say those words, Nom Nom looked as though the words impacted him for a moment before he noticed the sharks breaking out and heading towards them as he resumed his usual behavior.

"Well, I'm not gonna forgive you! You always ruin everything! Always!"

Knowing that she's not going to get anywhere with the rambling koala and his unknowingly decreasing popularity, Jessica saw a cotton candy machine from far away before she leaped on the bears and grabbed him.

"No hard feelings."

With that, Jessica chucked him into the machine, coating him in cotton candy before Jessica spoke of what to do about their situation.

"Okay, guys. We need to swim the heck out of here now!"

Before they could do so, Grizz and Panda's legs slipped inside the floaty, grounding them as it became too tight, worrying Jessica.

"Oh, no. What now?"

Grizz and Panda began to panic as they tried to move in vain.

"Jessica, I don't think we can swim!"

"We're stuck!"

As they got caught in a life-threatening predicament, another swimmer noticed another solution from above.

"Whoa, what's that?"

To their surprise, they noticed Ice Bear covered in dirt and riding on the RC helicopter before Jessica shouted to him.

"Ice B! Thank goodness!"

As the sharks grew closer, Ice Bear used the remote to lower himself to them as Grizz grabbed onto his leg while Jessica hung onto Panda who held onto his big brother and pulled them out of the pool just as the sharks only managed to get to the floaty, resulting in them getting stuck as the sharks had one end and another altogether. As they flew in the air, Jessica looked to Panda as she spoke.

"You alright, Pan-Pan?"

"Yeah. Thanks for trying to save us."

"You don't need to thank me. I'll always help you."

Then, Panda remembered how she chucked Nom Nom.

"Oh, wait. What about Nom Nom?"

Jessica then pointed to where she chucked him as he got coated in cotton candy and scooped out, making him shocked to see it before he yelled in frustration. However, the attention he got was one he'd desired.

"Hey, look! It's Nom Nom and he's being adorable!"

With that, the whole crowd swarmed around him with their phones as they each took videos of him, making him rethink his standing on Jessica. Upon careful assessment, he confirmed that she did chuck him there on purpose, but not for the reason he thought. As he enjoyed the attention, the bears and Jessica flew off in the sky.

* * *

At the bears' cave, Jessica, Grizz, Panda, Ice Bear, Patricia, and Sam were watching the most recent video of him being cute as she grew relieved.

"Well, looks like I finally put my deep-seated hatred to rest."

"And on top of that, he's back where he finally belongs: on the internet. Bummer we didn't get to be in that movie, though."

"Yeah, but at least we weren't eaten alive by sharks."

"Yeah, true that."

As they spoke, Jessica was given a grilled cheese sandwich with Grizz being given a cheeseburger with lettuce and fries while Panda had a bowl of ramen with an egg in it. All the while, Patricia and Sam had homemade pizza made specially by the bears' cook before Grizz spoke to him about a certain detail.

"Uh... ketchup?"

In preparation, Ice Bear handed him the bottle before he put it on his burger and the group ate their food while Patricia and Sam left their foods untouched gave their hateful glares towards the laptop, catching Jessica's notice as she spoke.

"Uh, are you guys okay?"

"I do not like him one bit."

"Me neither."

Seeing their angry faces, Jessica looked to Panda as she spoke.

"Yikes. Is that really how I look when I'm angry?"

"Yeah, don't even get me started."


	12. Shush Ninjas

**Chapter 12:** "Shush Ninjas"

One day, at the theater, Jessica went with the bears to sit down in the center row before seating themselves. Jessica was treating the bears to see a special movie they've waited two years to see. Although, it wouldn't have been possible without her mother's allowance, since she was working day and night in chores on weekends to save up money for this very occasion. She originally had money for herself, but since learning that the Bears were interested, Jessica felt it'd be nice to treat them to the very special movie. And Jessica knew that they were very happy with it as Grizz spoke.

"Oh, boy. I've been waiting two years for this movie."

"I've been playing the trailer on loop as I sleep."

Ice Bear and Jessica then leaned towards the guys before he shushed them, making Grizz remember the rules just as the feature presentation footage played with it displaying the rules.

"Shh."

"Quiet, guys."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"Welcome to the feature presentation. Please be courteous, turn off all your cell phones, and refrain from talking. Thank you."

Then, the movie began to play as it showed a city far away with the word "Europe" in the background before it showed a man running with the camera focused on him as Jessica and the bears heard a noise before turning to the right as they saw a moviegoer fiddling around with the wrapper with the candy inside. Jessica assumed it was because he needed something to calm his nerves at how epic the beginning was and just shrugged. Then, she began to hear one of two men talking behind her as he spoke.

"Oh, this is the part where he—"

 _Nope. You're not gonna ruin it for me._

Clearly not in the mood to listen to any spoilers, Jessica only took a large slurp from her soda to keep from having to be spoiled. As she did, however, she began to see that everyone was disregarding the rules as they were using Panda's seat as a footrest, texting on the phones, and most commonly, talking like they would outside the theater. Upon seeing this, Jessica looked to the bears, who gave her a displeased look before she, still trying to be courteous, looked to the doors and then back at them. Getting the hint, the bears nodded before the four of them left the room. As they did, Grizz, Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear gave their complaints.

"What's wrong with everyone? I couldn't hear a thing?"

"Dude, why was everyone so rude?"

"Yeah. I didn't come to this theater just to hear spoilers when I haven't even seen the movie."

Then, Panda remembered what Jessica was doing earlier.

"Oh, that's why you were slurping your soda?"

Jessica looked to Panda as she felt bad about how loud she drank it.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, it's also one of my habits I take to when I don't want to hear a spoiler."

"One of them?"

"Ice Bear wants his money back."

"Well, you can go do that, but I don't know if there's anything you can do about the noise. Still, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you, guys."

Grizz, seeing Jessica's look of disappointment, just gave her a pat on the shoulder as they went to the manager.

"No, it's cool, Jessie, really. We know you didn't mean for it to happen like that."

"Yeah, I know..."

When they got to the counter, Grizz spoke up to the manager, followed by Panda, Ice Bear, and Jessica.

"Sir, we respectfully request your attention."

"Theater 9 has become a cesspool of rowdiness."

"Ice Bear heard wrappers, not hip-hop."

"Isn't there anything you can do about it?"

The manager only sighed in what seemed to be expected disappointment before he spoke.

"I'm sorry. I can issue you a full refund, but I can't refund the way the world is."

Jessica then noticed the picture by him in which he was there with his crew at a younger age as Grizz and Panda spoke before she did.

"But you're the manager."

"If anyone can do something, you can."

"What could be different about now compared to how it was back then?"

"There was once a time when movies were special to people, when people acted with dignity in this public place."

Judging from how young he looked in the picture, Jessica could easily tell what changed.

"Oh... Because cell phones weren't used so often back then."

"That's right. Going to the theater was a loved and time-honored tradition. But that... was a long time ago."

Given the situation, Panda and Grizz shed tears while Jessica had a reverent look on her face before Grizz had an idea to solve the problem.

"Well, what if we helped?"

The manager only coughed before he spoke.

"How could you possibly accomplish such a task?"

"We'll go to the theaters and shush them with all our might."

"Ice Bear will shush unshushable."

"And we'll be completely hidden wearing these suits!"

As Panda got out the black suit, Jessica widened her eyes in surprise as she spoke.

"Whoa, Panda. Where did you get those?"

"They're for our interpretive dance class."

"You guys have an interpretive dance class?"

Grizz was mostly concerned about the suit's size.

"Hmm, seems kinda tight. Are they one size fits all?"

As they talked, though, the manager's eyes widened in hope before he spoke to them.

"They're perfect! These uniforms will strike fear into the hearts of noisemakers everywhere. Finally, once again, there's a chance to restore order to the world of cinema. Now go, and make the East Bay Cinema 13 proud!"

Knowing how they tend to be, Jessica felt it best to see for herself.

"Well, before we do that, I think we need to be sure that you're up for it."

* * *

With that, Jessica suggested a practice run, in which she herself would be one of the noisemakers, whether she liked it or not, while the bears would be what she called 'shush ninjas' they are. With their roles decided, Jessica watched as the bears got in their suits before they went to the doors of Theater 9 before Grizz spoke up.

"Listen up. It's our duty to make this theater a safe haven for movie lovers once again. For our children and our children's children."

Panda grew impressed with his speech as he spoke.

"That was beautiful. You should write poetry."

"What makes you think I haven't?"

This made Jessica widen her eyes in confusion before getting back on task as she spoke.

"Wait. You write poetry? Oh, never mind. Let's do this."

As the bears and Jessica walked in, she just went back to her seat and continued to watch the movie as she normally would as a woman spoke to the main protagonist.

"But how can you do it? You're just one man."

First, it showed Grizz going over to a man who had been fiddling with the wrapper before he unwrapped the candy and handed him it before he took it in his mouth and Grizz shushed him. After which, it showed Panda using his phone to talk to the girl on her phone before she answered.

"Hello?"

When she answered, Panda only shushed her as he also happened to be next to her before he sank to the ground. Next, it showed Grizz and Panda rapidly shushing a man who stuffed his face with popcorn before Ice Bear sneaked by a snoring movie viewer before shushing him, waking him up before Jessica saw how well they were shushing the noisemakers, making her smile as she spoke in her mind

 _Not bad, guys. So far, so good._

With that, Jessica decided to celebrate her spoiler-free movie night with some popcorn. However, as she tapped on the bucket, trying to get them in her mouth, Jessica was surprised to see the stealthy Panda through the bottom of the bucket as he shushed her.

"Shh. Jessica, you gotta be quiet, remember?"

"Oh, Sorry. You're right. Hey... where did my popcorn go?"

When she looked back in the bucket, she was surprised to see that her popcorn had returned in the bucket, making Jessica blink her eyes in surprise as she whispered.

"Whoa! How did he—?"

Before she could finish, she decided to keep her mouth shut so that she could watch the movie in peace.

* * *

As she watched, though, Jessica completely forgot all about the shushers and was more enamored with the movie as the ending surprised her. Apparently, it turned out that the protagonist's father was his brother the whole time. By the time she got out, she saw Panda covered in soda and popcorn as they checked with each other.

"Whew! I think they got the message. How did it go for you, Pan-Pan?"

"I hate vampires."

"Ice Bear completed mission. Sort of."

Jessica then walked over to Panda and got his attention, making him nervous as he brushed the popcorn off of him.

"Panda?"

"Oh, Jessica! I, uh, didn't see you there."

"What happened to you?"

"Oh, nothing. Just the noisemakers being jerks, and such."

Upon noticing the blue pin with the words "Team Christopher" on his suit, Jessica could easily see that he must've gotten some bad attention from the majority of those on "Team Jared". Strange enough, she wasn't at the receiving end of that kind of action. The most she got was a few questioning glances here and there.

"Wait. You're Team Christopher? Me, too. Look."

This got Panda surprised as she held out a pin for "Team Christopher" from her pocket before a sneaking suspicion crept up on him and gave Jessica a sour look.

"Whoa, no way! Wait. Are you sure you're not on 'Team Jared?'"

"Eh, Jared's a bit overrated in my opinion. And he's no bad guy, but Christopher... he really relates to me in a way."

"I know, right?"

As Panda smiled at her, they were met with the manager who only exhibited a dismal glance.

"Shushers, I'm sorry, but you must leave."

This got Jessica confused before she spoke.

"Huh? What for? They shushed them, didn't they?"

"No, not like this. They shushed irresponsibly."

"For real? What happened to the trial run, guys?"

The bears then became embarrassed as they presented their cases, making Jessica realize her mistake as she put on a face of embarrassment.

"Now that I think about it, I did go a little overboard over a guy sneezing."

"It's not my fault they don't believe in 'Team Christopher'."

"Ice Bear jumped the gun on cell phone."

"Oh..."

After which, the manager spoke solemnly to the group.

"I thought you could help, but I was wrong. Wrong to hope."

"But sir, we just tried to..."

Before Grizz could explain, the manager only shushed him before they bowed their heads.

"We understand."

With that, the bears walked out of the East Bay Cinema 13 in shame as Jessica held her head down before looking at him in her own shame. She knew how they tend to be and she paid no mind to them.

"I'm sorry about the trouble they caused, sir. But if it's any consolation, they did try to help."

With that, Jessica walked out of the theater and went to the way back home through the streets, her mind on what the bears would do now that they can't enjoy theaters anymore. As she thought of how miserable they'd been from listening to such loud noise, and now being asked to leave, Jessica couldn't help but feel guilty for dragging the bears into a disappointing night for them.

"Oh, guys... I hope you'll be okay after that train wreck."

* * *

The next morning, Jessica got out of bed and walked downstairs to see a blonde lady with a ponytail as she widened her eyes in suspicion as she played with Sam.

"Huh?"

"Who's a good babysitter?"

"Becky is!"

"That's right. Becky is."

As Jessica heard her name, she tried to get to the bottom of the situation.

"Uh, what is going on here?"

As she heard Jessica's voice, Becky went over to her as she smiled.

"Oh, you're awake. Didn't you see the note?"

"Huh? What note?"

As it just so happened, there was a note from Patricia, but she didn't read it. She wasn't in the mood to even notice it last night after what she put the bears through. As she took a closer look at it, she noticed the words on it written down.

'Hello, Jessica. Can't be there for you tomorrow as I'm taking an extra shift in the workplace for overtime. Be good to your babysitter for the day.'

Following this was a smiley face she drew on her own. Jessica felt a bit quasi-comforted from this as she didn't do much babysitting with the bears and possibly ruined other movie goers' joy of movie watching. Maybe she could use one babysitter for the day.

"Huh. Good to know. Maybe I didn't look when I got home last night."

"Well, you better get ready, because guess who's going to the movies?"

This made Jessica widen her eyes at such a suggestion. After having already ruined a night of watching movies, now she has to endure another possible ruination due to her carelessness.

"Touché, universe. Touché."

* * *

 **THREE HOURS LATER**

As Patricia drove on home and pulled up in the garage, she saw Jessica setting Sam into his bed through a window before smiling and opening the door as she looked around the house upon entering for Becky, but there wasn't any sign of her.

"Becky? Hello? That's weird. She was here this morning."

As she pondered this, Jessica slowly opened the door and walked out before closing the door and seeing Patricia.

"Oh. Hey, Mom."

"Hi, Jessica. Do you know where your babysitter is?"

"Well, she couldn't stay for a while. Especially not after what happened."

This made her raise an eyebrow as she spoke.

"What did happen while I was away?"

"Well, you see..."

* * *

 _At the theater, Becky, Jessica, and Sam went inside to see_ _a_ _movie called 'Tiny Friends Part 6' as the babysitter gave the cash to the manager._

" _Yeah, I'd like to purchase three tickets to see Fuzzy Friends."_

" _Ahem. Uh, make that two. Just for them."_

" _Of course, ma'am."_

 _As she got the cash out, Jessica noticed that one of the staff was looking_ _a_ _bit worried about that particular movie as she raised an eyebrow while Becky and Sam went inside._

' _After we ate lunch, Becky took the two of us to see the Fuzzy Friends movie. But as she took Sam to the door, I couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right.'_

 _As he got nervous, Jessica tried to calm him down as she placed her hands on her shoulders and squeezed them to massage them._

" _Hey, miss. Calm down and take_ _a_ _breather. What's going on that's got you so jumpy?"_

" _I wouldn't go in there to see that movie. Especially not with... the sugar rush."_

" _Huh? Sugar rush? What are you talking about?"_

" _They got to the junk food here. And now, there's no telling what'll happen."_

" _Hey, relax. So_ _a_ _few kids got to some junk food. What could possibly—?"_

 _Suddenly, inside Theater 3, there was_ _a_ _loud noise before Jessica took_ _a_ _peek through the door crack and saw Sam becoming hyper, freaking Becky out as she tried to survive the assault of the toddlers as she gasped before running outside of the theater and towards the library._

' _It turned out, all the kids in there got sugar rush from the candy in concessions. With that much sweets at their disposal, they were basically psycho kids. No offense to the children, of course. Seeing this level of rowdiness, I knew there were only three bears that would help._ _Unfortunately, they retired. But, equally fortunately, I knew where they retired to._ _A_ _place where no noise could disturb them.'_

 _With that, Jessica noticed the three bears at_ _a_ _table reading some books as she stepped forward in reverence._

" _Guys, we need your help. There's_ _a_ _situation at the theater. Only you three can handle it. They need you."_

" _It is too late, Jessica. We have retired to this quiet space."_

 _B_ e _fore she could try to speak to them again, Jessica remembered how she ruined their movie night last night and sighed in defeat as she handed the Bears their change._

" _Okay. Here's you portion of the refund. I knew it was_ _a_ _long shot after what I put you through, so... thank you for trying."_

 _As she walked away, the Bears looked at the cash before each other and then Jessica. From what they saw on her face, they knew she worked very hard to make it_ _a_ _special time for them, but she must be distraught that it was all for nothing. But the bears decided not to let it come to that conclusion as Grizz spoke._

" _Refund? We don't want our change. We want to change the world! We'll do it."_

 _Jessica then smiled at the bears as_ _a_ _look of hope came over her._

* * *

 _When they got to the theater, the bears were in their stealth suits as_ _a_ _man pondered of their identities._

" _Who are they?"_

 _The bears shushed him in response before Jessica pointed to the theater where the havoc took place._

' _After bringing the bears to the cinema, I showed them the cesspool of rowdiness where my brother was.'_

" _This is it, guys."_

 _At that moment, Jessica saw Becky going out of the door and gasping for air._

" _Whoa, Becky. You alright?"_

" _Don't go in there! It's madness!"_

 _As she ran off for safety, Jessica tried to get her attention._

" _Hey! You can't just—"_

 _However, it was too late as Becky had already gotten out of the cinema, exasperating Jessica with_ _a_ _growl before she spoke to the bears._

" _Okay, guys. You need to prepare yourselves. As flighty as she was just now, she's right."_

" _Ice Bear has that noted."_

 _With that, the bears burst through the doors before taking their masks off in horror as they noticed children running around, jumping up and down, and pushing against the chairs. Seeing this level of rowdiness makes her generation's bar of such undertaking seem tame. And for good reason as the children, including Sam, began piling on the manager._

" _Please! Silence! Stop!"_

 _As he was unable to get to them, Jessica noticed him and went over to him as she picked Sam up, surprising him as he spoke._

" _Jessie? What are you doing?"_

" _I'd ask you the same thing. You know you're not supposed to behave like this."_

" _But Mom's not here."_

" _I know that, but still—"_

 _As she heard his reply, she noticed for herself that there were no parents in the room, giving Jessica_ _a_ _confused, yet displeased look as Sam spoke again._

" _But what?"_

 _As an answer, Jessica lifted Sam up onto her shoulders and gave him_ _a_ _piggyback ride._

" _Never mind. Up you go."_

 _As she brought Sam with her to the bears, she noticed one child running around with_ _a_ _shot over his head before he spoke._

" _I'm_ _a_ _superhero! I'mma sing_ _a_ _song!"_

 _As he stopped near the Bears, Panda tried to shush him, only for the child to growl and gnash his teeth at him, making him flinch near Jessica and Sam before he ran again with the manager admitting defeat with_ _a_ _bucket of popcorn on his head._

" _I'mma sing_ _a_ _song!"_

" _It's too late. We are doomed. The magic of cinema is dead."_

" _Yeah, no thanks to the lazy bums who wouldn't even sit with their kids to watch their movie and keep an eye on them."_

 _This gave Grizz an idea as he turned to Jessica and Ice Bear._

" _The magic of cinema... oh, that's it!"_

" _What's it?"_

" _I got an idea."_

* * *

 _As the children continued roughhousing, Jessica, Sam, and Ice Bear went up to the projection booth before the latter flipped the switch, confusing Sam, as scared of the dark as he normally was._

" _What's going on? It's too dark..."_

" _You'll see, Sammy."_

 _As Jessica flipped the spotlight on, it showed Grizz and Panda onstage as the former made_ _a_ _speech._

" _Movies — Why movies you ask? Why are we here in this dark and kind of smelly room with total strangers? We go to the movies to be_ _a_ _part of something together. Just think of all the memories we've shared, all the times we've spread our imagination wings, and allowed ourselves to soar!"_

 _To further illustrate this, Jessica began rolling the footage Ice Bear set up, showing them acting out other roles in other movies, including The Little Mermaid, Rocky (where Grizz survived_ _a_ _tough fight and called out to Panda in place of Adrian), even Inception._

" _We've opened our arms to to new adventures, filled with moments that warmed our hearts, moments that are windows to our past_ _a_ _nd help us shape our future. We are these characters. We understand all their imperfections. They love like we love."_

" _Panda!"_

" _There's no telling what mysteries will unfold or who we'll meet along the way. But life is never boring when you go to the movies! In conclusion, who needs_ _a_ _telescope to look at the stars when the stars shine brighter... at the movies?"_

 _As Grizz paused in his speech, Ice Bear gracefully tossed popcorn in the air as if they were dust before Grizz spoke to the children again._

" _Now, who's ready to watch_ _a_ _movie?"_

 _When the spotlight came off, the children were shown to be sleeping everywhere. As luck would have it, so was Sam who slept in Jessica's lap as he snuggled against her as Grizz felt_ _a_ _bit miffed._

" _I really thought I had something here."_

 _Later, Jessica was holding the sleeping Sam in her arms as the manager surveyed the situation to see that the children were asleep with joy._

" _You gentlemen have done it. You've shushed the unshushable! How can we ever repay you?"_

 _Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear only gave their answer in_ _a_ _humble way._

" _Our reward is that justice has been served."_

" _It was our duty as movie watching citizens."_

" _Ice Bear refuses praise."_

" _Surely, there's something we can do to repay you."_

 _Jessica looked towards the bears as she spoke to Grizz._

" _I have an idea for you to consider."_

* * *

"And then, the bears were finally able to watch their movie in peace while I brought Sam back home safe and snug."

Patricia then blinked her eyes in confusion towards such an event before she spoke.

"Huh. And do you know where Becky went?"

"Wish I could say I knew, Mom. But judging from the way she took off, I'm guessing it was her first day."

"Hmm... well, I'm glad things worked out. Except for Becky. I hope she's going to be okay."

"Yeah. Me, too. I don't think any of the staff enjoyed that sugar rush fiasco, however that happened."

Jessica then looked out the window and saw a strange, tall, dark green furred silhouette before it walked away, making Jessica close her eyes and shake her head before she saw no one else there, catching Patricia's notice.

"Is something the matter, Jessica?"

"I don't know, Mom. For some reason, I— I thought I saw someone... familiar."


	13. My Clique

**Chapter 13:** "My Clique"

It started one weekend as Jessica had been able to get some free time with the Bears, finding Chloe there as well. Frankly, with her being the prodigy, it surprised Jessica. But at the same time, she knew she had a life outside of school; everyone does, after all. As Jessica played a game of charades with Chloe and the bears, Grizz was waving his arms around before stomping on the ground, giving Panda much difficulty trying to figure it out.

"Um... running?"

Grizz only shook his head as an answer before he held his hands out and went side to side, giving Panda a helpful visual aid.

"A plane? Oh! Oh, a bird!"

"Yeah, yeah, but what kind of bird?"

Seeing the error made on Grizz's part, Chloe piped up and reminded him.

"Hey! No talking!"

"Sorry."

With that, Grizz began to flop on the floor, further stupefying Panda before he gave up before Chloe and Grizz spoke up.

"I don't know, man! Pass."

"Time!"

"Dude, a penguin! I was a penguin."

As Panda felt frustrated that he didn't get it, Jessica patted him on the back as she spoke.

"It's okay, Pan. It'll be good practice for you."

In the next round, Ice Bear was doing charades with Chloe as she tried to predict his traditional dance.

"Ballet! Uh... Robot! A rolling pin?"

Next, Panda was doing the charades as Jessica tried to solve the shapes he made as he held them near his face as he clicked.

"A box? No, a telescope. Oh, wait. A camera!"

This made Panda nod to her as she pumped her fists.

"Yes!"

In the final round, Chloe was doing the charades as Ice Bear spoke up, getting every answer in succession.

"Boat. Pizza. Statue of Liberty. Snowman. Whale. Spider monkey. Richard Nixon. Old Faithful. I know why the caged bird sings."

As time went out, Panda gave out a surprising number of correct answers as he spoke up to Jessica.

"Time!"

"Yikes. How many was that?"

"20 answers in 43 seconds!"

Hearing this, Grizz wasn't very happy with that as he yelled in defeat while Chloe high-fived Ice Bear.

"No!"

"Yeah! Whoo-hoo!"

As Chloe and Ice Bear celebrated, Grizz turned to Panda and Jessica.

"We did pretty well, though."

"No, we didn't."

"Well, like I said, it is good for practice."

At that moment, Chloe's phone began to ring as she had to pick it up.

"Hey, guys. Sorry. It's my dad."

With that, Chloe began speaking with her father in Korean over the phone. It was only for a little while as a few seconds after, Chloe ended the call before Panda spoke up.

"What's going on? Do you need to go?"

"Nah. They're just checking in. No big."

At that moment, Jessica noticed Grizz's sudden itchiness as he scratched himself like a monkey before she looked to him and spoke up.

"Uh-oh. Did you get any fleas?"

"What? No. It's just... this itch! I can't reach it."

Just as Jessica was about to offer to scratch that itch, Chloe took over as she went over to him herself.

"Here you go."

As she applied her hands on Grizz's back, he began to moan in relief as his discomfort went away and spoke to Chloe.

"Yeah, much better. Thanks, Chloe."

"My pleasure."

Seeing how Chloe took charge on helping her friends, Jessica grew very impressed as she spoke.

"Wow, Chloe. You're on top of things today, aren't you?"

"Yeah. So you guys ready for some Bubble Tea?"

Hearing this, Jessica became confused as she raised an eyebrow before Panda spoke up elatedly.

"Yeah! Bubble Tea!"

"What's Bubble Tea?"

"Only one way to find out: losers buy!"

With that, Chloe ran out the door, making Jessica miffed as she got a head start. She could actually care less about paying for it, but the one thing she doesn't like is losing.

"Hey! Get back here!"

* * *

Later, at the Boba shop, Jessica had been introduced to the wonder of Bubble Tea by Chloe. And to be frank, she enjoyed it a lot more than she thought she would as she tasted the brown sugar (the reason for the Boba being black to add texture to the drink). When she drank it, though, there was one small gripe. One of the Boba went in through the straw and she had to get it out of her mouth. However, Chloe was found to have done the same thing as she tossed one at Grizz, who welcomed the challenge.

"Ha-ha. Oh, yeah? You want a Boba fight?"

At that moment, another voice spoke up from afar as the owner of said voice took notice of Jessica and Chloe.

"Chloe? Jessica? Hey, what's up? It's Amy. We're in the same Bio-Chem class. This is Chloe. You know, that prodigy girl in our school?"

"Oh, Hey."

As the latter of the girls mentioned spoke up to her, the former quickly became socially frozen as she stammered while speaking quietly.

"Hey, guys. How are you doing?"

"Uh... hi."

"Hey, you guys should join our study group. We meet every Wednesday after class. It'll be great."

While Jessica was upbeat about it, Chloe felt awkward about it as she spoke in a quiet tone again, catching her attention as she spoke.

"Yeah, okay. Maybe. I don't know if I can, though."

Not willing to see Chloe down in the dumps, Jessica spoke up to Amy.

"Sounds fun. We'll consider it."

"Great. If you guys are ready, just give me a call."

With that, Amy wrote her number on a piece of paper before she handed it to Jessica.

"I'll see you guys later."

"Thanks, Amy."

With that, Chloe resumed drinking her Boba Tea before Panda spoke up to the prodigy.

"What was that?"

"What?"

"That was super awkward."

Immediately fearing the worst, Grizz spoke to Chloe next as Jessica knew for herself the reason Chloe acted awkward.

"What's wrong? Is she bullying you at school?"

"Actually, Grizz, Chloe's just a bit shy around other people."

Panda found that hard to believe as he looked to her and considered how well Chloe acted with Jessica.

"Really? How did she get along with you, then?"

"Well, when I first moved here, I had to start going to her school, and it was like having my first day all over again. That's when I met her. When I did, I was so surprised with how much she knew about everything. I guess we communicated better in that way."

As Panda understood the reason, he then turned his attention to Chloe.

"Oh, that makes sense. But Chloe, that girl wanted to be your friend. She was really cool."

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know."

To try to understand her problem, Grizz spoke up to Chloe next as he gave her a concerned glance.

"Do you ever hang out with your classmates?"

"Not really. I mean, I hang out with you guys."

"Wait. Are we in the way of you making new friends?"

"No, it's just. It's— it's not like they want to hang out with me."

As Grizz flipped out over it, Jessica can understand her situation.

"What?! That's crazy! You're Chloe! You're awesome! This is unacceptable."

"Oh, I get it. Maybe it's not just that you're shy; maybe you just assume everybody is only into you because of your title, but not for who you are, right?"

When Chloe gave a sigh and a nod as an answer, Grizz decided to take charge and help her out of her social funk.

"Okay! We're gonna give you all the secrets."

As Chloe became curious, Jessica recalled what Ice Bear said after the whole Bear Report Incident.

"What secrets?"

"I don't think gossip about other bears' habits are gonna help her, guys."

"What? No! I mean we're secrets on how to become super popular, you silly. We'll be showing Chloe how to make new friends."

After Grizz reiterates his meaning of secrets, Ice Bear demonstrates his determination to help Chloe out with a punch to the palm of his paw.

"Ice Bear will make them love Chloe."

Knowing how they tend to get, Chloe felt as though it wasn't worth the effort, especially with how quickly they almost ruined her project. Of course, she's forgiven them for it, but she'd still feel a bit embarrassed with their attempts.

"Mm, I don't know..."

"Chloe, you gotta trust me on this. This will be good. By the end of this mission, everybody's gonna wanna be your friend."

Knowing how badly Grizz and the others want her to be happy, Chloe decided to give it a shot as she spoke.

"Aw, okay."

As Jessica smiled, Grizz grew excited while Panda took the paper.

"Whoo-hoo! Alright, let's do this!"

"And let me take this phone number of Amy's in case she calls us. The more the merrier, right?"

At first, Jessica was afraid it'll be out of the context of trying to go out with her, but what he suggested put her at ease as she smiled.

"Good idea, Pan-Pan."

* * *

Later, at the schoolyard, Grizz was coaching Chloe as Jessica supervised the session on the water fountain.

"Okay, first tip. People like confidence, and if you want to look confident, you gotta make yourself look bigger."

This made Chloe and Jessica curious, considering the former's literal size.

"How do I do that?"

"I'll give a demonstration. Check this out."

Acting on this, Grizz raised his arms and began moaning like a zombie whilst flailing them around in the air, earning a few confused glances from the students before Grizz returned back and spoke up to Chloe, confident in his method whilst Jessica had notes.

"Easy-breezy, confident."

"I don't think you exactly got their approval, Grizz. And I really doubt Chloe can pull it off any better than you did like that."

Jessica's suspicions were proven correct as Chloe admitted her point.

"I think she may be right."

"Aw, come on, Chloe. You got this."

With that, Grizz lifted Chloe's arms up before he rearranged her mouth into that of a large smile and used his spit to wax her normal hair into a spiky fashion.

"Okay, first you gotta lift those guns real high, then show your biggest confident smile. There! You're ready, now get out of here."

As expected by Jessica, Chloe had no success getting more than confused glances until she stumbled upon a woman going through her purse before she took notice of her as Chloe spoke while holding the pose.

"Hey."

Almost in an instant, the woman took off in fright, leaving her purse behind in the process, making Chloe a bit embarrassed while Grizz looked on the bright side.

"Well, she's gotta come back for the purse. And when she does, boom! New friend."

Jessica only saw the pragmatic part of the situation as she facepalmed herself before she spoke up.

"Okay. Let's check out Panda's idea."

* * *

In the library, Panda had a more practical solution, yet it had an equal amount of absurdity. For one thing, Jessica knew that these kind of things have to happen naturally. And for the other, the point of the exercise is to help Chloe make friends, not find her a boyfriend. But nonetheless, Jessica went along with it as it was more sensible than what Grizz had in mind.

"In all the romantic movies I've seen, the way to get people to like you is to stumble, drop all your fancy papers, and then magically, the person of your dreams comes to the rescue."

Upon looking at this footage, however, Jessica recognized the faces seen in the movie. The woman was her mother, only she was more younger, maybe her age. And another face in the movie was... her father. He was wearing sandals for some bizarre reason, and he had peach fuzz on his chin and on the top of his mouth. Upon seeing them, Jessica was thrown into a momentary daze, seeing for herself how her mom and Dad must've met for the first time. It would've been longer if Panda hasn't spoken up to her.

"In your case, it'll be your new friend. Right, Jessica? Jessica? You okay?"

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, Pan. It's just— I don't know. Maybe a trip down memory lane?"

"You, uh, wanna talk about it?"

"Not right now. We still gotta help Chloe, remember?"

Having realized that he'd almost forgotten about Chloe's situation, emphasis on the almost, Panda got her papers out of the backpack and handed them to her.

"Oh, that's right. So, anyway, go fall in friendship."

With that, Chloe began to walk with the papers in hand and tripped before Panda cheered her on, however premature it was.

"You're a natural!"

"Uh, Panda, I think it should happen naturally. We can't just force it."

"Well, technically, we're not forcing it. We're helping it along."

"Just to be safe, let's check out what Ice Bear has to say."

* * *

At the gym, Ice Bear was punching a dummy as Chloe and Jessica wore blue headbands on their heads before the latter spoke up.

"Okay, remind me again exactly how fighting enemies is supposed to help us make friends."

"All Ice Bear's friends are future enemies."

With that, Ice Bear immediately did a swift kick on the dummy, removing its head as it flew clean off.

* * *

At the cafeteria, the Bears and Jessica were now seeing Chloe demonstrate their solutions all at once, although Jessica felt as though they wouldn't fare any better separately.

"Alright, you mastered the techniques. Time to put them to the test. By the way, you're doing great."

"Really? You think so?"

"For sure. You'll be making a friend any minute now."

Jessica, however, didn't really feel as though that the situation would make her presentable.

"Are you sure about that? It doesn't look like it'll be that easy."

"Well, we won't know for sure until we try. Remember, confidence."

"Don't forget your fancy papers."

"Go for their legs."

As Chloe marched out with her papers above her head and her hair slicked upwards while marching like zombie, the Bears stepped back and watched as their masterpiece set out to make friends as Panda spoke.

"Look at her go."

As Chloe marched onward, though, Chloe stopped and looked at herself through the reflection of the vending machine. Upon doing so, Chloe stopped her charade by setting down the papers and setting her hair back to normal before she spoke to herself, trying a better alternative than embarrassing herself.

"I look ridiculous."

With that, Chloe decided to press onward, trying to remember what the bears meant by all the stuff they made her go through.

"Easy-breezy, confident."

As Jessica looked to see Chloe try to attempt this on her own, she became very impressed.

"Wow. Looks like Chloe's figured it all out for herself."

The Bears were a different story as they instantly got sent in a panic-fringe with Panda speaking up before Grizz.

"Ohh! She's not doing what we told her!"

"She needs our help. Quick, call her."

"Guys, wait!"

Before Jessica could stop them, the ringtone of Chloe's phone began playing before one of the teens who've heard it began to reject it.

" _ **She's my girl**_

 _ **She's the only one in the world"**_

"Oh, I hate that song. Only little kids listen to that stuff."

As a couple of her male entourage laughed in agreement, neither of them noticing Chloe, she began to feel more embarrassed and ran away, only to bump into another student before he spoke up to try to apologize to her.

"Huh? I'm sorry. Oh, hey! You're that prodigy girl, aren't you? It's gotta be so weird."

"Yeah. It is. Bye."

As Chloe walked away, feeling more awkward than usual, Jessica tried to check up on her.

"Hey, Chloe. You doing alright?"

"It's not that important, guys. Thanks for trying. I'm... I'm just gonna go home."

Knowing that look on Chloe's face, Jessica knew it could lead to one thing, and she wasn't going to let it happen on her watch.

"Well, at least let us see you off. The Bears can just drop you and me off and I'll help you with the homework. Deal?"

As Chloe looked to Jessica, she knew that there's one detail to be concerned about.

"What about your mom?"

"I'll update her about it as we go along."

* * *

Later, Jessica did just that as she, the Bears, and Chloe made it to her house before the prodigy spoke to them.

"Thanks for walking me home. I'm okay now."

"Chloe, I have to help you with homework, remember?"

"Oh. Right."

As Jessica looked behind the Bears, she wanted to be sure they can handle standing out in the open.

"What about you guys?"

"We'll wait."

As the door opened, it revealed none other than Chloe's mother who took notice of the Bears, Jessica, and her daughter outside before she spoke in Korean. After which, Jessica did the honors in return.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Mrs. Park."

"Oh. Oh, hi."

As Jessica smiled, she introduced her to the Bears.

"Mrs. Park, meet the Bears. Bears, meet Mrs. Park."

As Grizz and Panda said hello traditionally, Ice Bear spoke Jessica's language before Panda recalled it from when she visited the cave after the Pigeon Cartel Incident.

"Hello."

"Hi."

"Annyeonghaseyo."

"Oh, wait. You said that back at the cave, didn't you?"

"Yep. Mrs. Park usually gives me a few pointers every now and then."

At that moment, Mrs. Park spoke with Chloe about her day in Korean, wanting to see how it went. When Chloe only gave a small hmm of awkwardness, she wanted to find out what was the matter, only to receive this as her answer.

"Nothing."

Before she could wave Jessica off, she remembered that she was her partner and turned her attention to the Bears.

"We gotta finish our homework. Thanks for walking me home. See ya. Uh..."

With that, Chloe and Jessica went in the house, the latter being determined to help her out of the funk.

* * *

As they worked on their homework (which was never too early to do, according to Chloe), Jessica took notice of the episode of Adventure Time playing where Finn and Jake were jumping out of the bushes and the former accidentally hit his head on the ground before Jake lifted him up as Jessica laughed at the slight pratfall.

 _"Yo, Finn, are you all right? Did you get brain damage?"_

 _"I'm fine. Keep going. We have to hurry."_

As Jessica and Chloe watched and worked at the same time, it was hard to balance out the equations with the show's climatic sequences. For instance, Jessica simply couldn't hold her gasp when the very fairies they saved began destroying old ladies (which made zero sense as to how they came to Mount Cragdor to begin with). And oddly enough, it didn't fill Finn with righteous anger, but instead with an ultimately halting sense of doubt. As Jessica watched onward, she noticed Jake walking to Finn as he tried to help him get himself together.

 _"Hey, Finn, you okay?"_

 _"No way, dude. Those old ladies are destroyed because of me. I'm not righteous. I'm wrong-teous. Stupid-teous."_

While Jessica wouldn't call these words grammatically incorrect, she knew Chloe must've felt wrong-teous and/or stupid-teous as Finn described about himself. Before Jessica can try to speak to her, seeing her face beginning to shed tears over the embarrassment she had to endure today, she heard Jake speaking up to his compatriot.

 _"Ah, don't let those gnomes and their illusions get you down. They're just gnomes and illusions."_

 _"Illusions?"_

 _"Yeah, man. Think— what would regular old sweet ladies be doing wandering around the hills of Mount Cragdor?"_

 _"Maybe they're lost?"_

 _"No way. This place is designed to mess you up, to mess with your head. None of this is real. It's all just trials to test your heroic attributes."_

 _As Finn pondered this, it began to make sense to him before Jake spoke._

 _"Now let's go get that book."_

 _"Yeah. You're the smartest dog I know, man."_

As Jessica grew relieved that Finn felt better about himself, she figured it was time for her to step up before she spoke to Chloe.

"Hey, Chloe. You doing okay?"

"Not really. I was already awkward around other people before. But ever since we tried what the guys suggested, I've never felt more embarrassed in my whole life. I don't know. Maybe Grizz was right. Maybe they are in the way of me making new friends..."

Hearing Chloe say that out of her mouth, Jessica just simply couldn't believe it and tried to soothe her.

"Chloe, the guys... they did their best, and they failed, yeah. But why should that mean you should give up on them? Truth is, they're still just as new to making friends as you are. But they never let that stop them."

"They didn't?"

"No way. They wouldn't have met me the way they did if they just gave up on making friends. I mean, think about what could've happened if I didn't meet you."

As Chloe thought of this, she immediately pictured a bleak future, surrounded by pages of homework as far as the eye can see. As much as she enjoyed it, and even if it promised a bright future, it would still be lonely at the top. With that, Chloe spoke up to her again as she snuggled her.

"Like I said, Chloe, they're still new to making friends. So, if you really wanna make friends, you can always ask me for help. Looking back on it now, we probably should've done it earlier anyway."

Remembering this, Chloe began to laugh as she hugged Jessica while pushing her backward on the couch cushions as the latter began to laugh as well before Chloe spoke.

"Yeah. That sounds nice."

"So you're not down in the dumps anymore?"

"No. Not if I want to make new friends."

"Good."

At that moment, Chloe and Jessica received a text from Panda before they looked to see it as it said this.

"Our place. 6 P.M. Be there. "

As it showed this, Jessica began to look to Chloe as she did the same for her before the former spoke.

"So, you ready to go?"

Knowing that Jessica will be there to help her, whether it be as a friend or out of whatever inadvertently embarrassing scheme the Bears have cooked up, Chloe nodded to her as she spoke.

"Yeah. I'm ready."

* * *

Later, Chloe and Jessica got to the cave and noticed signs all around them saying "Mature People Only", "No Babies Allowed", and "Valet". At first, it was confusing for the two, but as they approached the cave, Grizz opened the door, revealing himself in a fake mustache and a top hat as he spoke up to them.

"Ah, good evening madams. Welcome."

As he showed the two around the cave, it turned out to be a semi fancy affair as one of the people invited was sitting crisscross while others looked around and minded their own business as Jessica and Chloe noticed a banner that said, "Welcome to the Grown-Up Chloe Gala". So far, the only thing that surprised Jessica was the fact that banners like that were even made to begin with. Before Jessica could say a word, Ice Bear appeared in an Indian-patterned vest before opening a metal lid from the plate to reveal a juice box for Chloe, and a soda for Jessica before both took their appointed drinks as Jessica spoke.

"You know, as far as their shenanigans go, this is actually pretty cool."

At that moment, though, Jessica heard Grizz tap his glass of cider before making a proclamation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? May I present to you the Duchess of Matureville, Chloe!"

 _Matureville? Wait. I know what's going on here. They must be acting that way because Chloe had always felt small around other kids. They must be trying to make her look like the same age despite their height._

As Jessica figured it out, Chloe tried to speak to Grizz.

"Grizz, what's going on? Why are you guys talking like that?"

"Oh, tsk, tsk. Always so modest."

With that, Grizz clapped his hands together, inadvertently summoning Ice Bear's roomba, which now wore a black bow tie on top of it before Ice Bear got Chloe on his back while Jessica stepped gently on the roomba as Grizz spoke.

"Come, join us for a tour of your kingdom."

As the roomba followed Ice Bear, Jessica had to admit that she was impressed with the way things went as they first stopped at numerous pictures of fanciness tapes to the wall before stopping at the refreshments. After which, they traveled near Panda, who was drawing a manga art of the muse.

"Huh. You guys are going all-out on this, huh?"

"This collection was a generous gift from Mr. Rochester, at the copy store."

"And what's the food?"

"Our fine-dining hors d'oeuvres, cookie dough tartar."

"Cookie dough, huh?"

"And, of course, you know our famous house artist, Jacques Le Panda."

Hearing this, Jessica leaned in Chloe's ear in a whisper, making Chloe surprised as she covered her mouth before Grizz spoke to one of the people invited.

"I should. He's my B.F."

"Salutations, fellow adults. Have you met Chloe? She's as mature as they get."

"Uh, I just came here, because the flyer said there'd be free pizza."

As Jessica heard this, she knew they had to get that and soon. Did Grizz set it up without any plans for pizza? Before she could answer, "Jacques Le Panda" took Chloe by her arm and went with her as Jessica followed them via roomba.

"Chloe is a strong, independent woman, don't you think?"

As Chloe got embarrassed again, Ice Bear acted on his own and moved up to another crowd before standing up, leaving Chloe directly on top of his head as he spoke.

"Meet Chloe. She's very old."

"Um, hi."

With that, Panda took her to the chair before he and Grizz began introducing people to her rather quickly.

"This is Tom. He's an awesome volleyball player, and he loves science."

"This is Alyssa. When she's not serving coffee, she's studying to be a doctor."

"This is Pedro. He is so funny."

As Grizz took off, Jessica became very confused as it became difficult to keep the facts straight.

"Guys, can you slow down, maybe? I didn't get their names and we didn't really—"

Suddenly, the lights went out before one sole light shone on them before Grizz spoke on the microphone.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Nice to see you all again, and welcome to the grown-up podcast, featuring Chloe, the most mature person on campus."

As Grizz passed the microphone to Chloe, she became bashful as Jessica tried to ask them to stop it as she spoke.

"Guys, give her a break. We know what you're trying to do, but she doesn't need that kind of attention."

Amidst the crowd, one of the partygoers asked about the promised meal.

"Uh, where's the free pizza again?"

Seeing the unrest of the crowd, Grizz turned to Panda, becoming nervous that his plan wasn't working out as he hoped.

"Uh, okay. Let's, um, go to our musical segment. Jacques?"

"Oui Oui."

As Panda pushed the button, however, it began playing a music of dance, much to Panda's dismay as he tried to correct this mistake but to no avail. However, it seemed to have worked as the partygoers danced to the beat, making Jessica relieved that it'll at least take their minds off the vain promise of free pizza. Grizz and Panda, however, saw it as an obstacle to their plan.

"Dude, what's going on?"

"I can't turn it off!"

"Hey! Everyone, please control yourselves! This is a mature party. I— no!"

To further add to the dismay, Ice Bear was dancing along with the crowd before Jessica helped Chloe onto her back before she noticed the kitchen free of the partygoers and spoke to the roomba.

"Take us to the kitchen."

As Jessica clapped hands, the roomba acted in her command and rolled them away before they got to the place of safety and found another thing to be embarrassed about: a cake saying "Happy 50 Chloe". Despite this, Chloe just took a slice of the cake and wanted to eat it in piece. At that moment, however, the roomba suddenly stopped short, knocking off Chloe to the floor, only for her to be caught while unfortunately, the cake didn't survive as it splattered on the floor. Desperate to fix it, Jessica and Chloe began to try to reassemble the cake, only to hear another voice speak up to help them out.

"Five-second rule. Heh heh. Just joking. Hey, guys. Remember? It's me, Amy. You know, from earlier at the Boba Shop."

Surprised to see her, Chloe spoke up with Amy, seeing Jessica's nod for her to interact.

"Oh, um... hey. What are you doing here?"

"I heard from those Bears that you're the most mature person on campus. I figured that must be why you were out of it this morning."

"Oh! Well, uh... actually, I'm no more mature than anyone in the school, but people just assume that because of how high my grades are, especially with how young I am. I'm twelve for crying out loud!"

"Really? No kidding."

"I know, right? It's crazy. People think it's so cool to be 'the prodigy.' Why can't I just be called, 'the awkward Korean girl who will never be tall enough to ride the roller coaster?'"

Hearing that comment, Amy laughed at this with Jessica before the former's other friends, one of which is dressed in a red vest in a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves while another in a green jacket with a skirt, spoke up.

"Hey, Amy. We're thinking of heading out. This place is getting a bit crazy."

This gave Amy an idea as she spoke up to them.

"Hey, guys. Meet Chloe and Jessica. They're in our class."

"Hi."

"How's it going?"

With that, the woman in glasses spoke up her answer with a smile.

"It's going great. My name's Chelsea, and this is Becky."

"Cool. Great to see you. You guys don't happen to watch 'Adventure Time', do you?"

Amy was the first to answer before Chloe chimed in.

"Actually, we do. You mean you guys are into it, too?"

"Oh, yeah! Jessica and I watch it all the time when we do homework. It really helps us focus. Plus, the episodes are super awesome and funny! Like when Ice King was like, 'oh, my beard!'"

As the whole group laughed at this, Chloe received a phone call before Amy spoke out to them.

"Hey, guys, come here! Check this out!"

"Coming!"

"On my way, Sister!"

With that, the crowd walked outside and noticed a full moonlight up above them as they all gasped.

"Whoa..."

"It's so beautiful..."

"Right? And look at the stars."

With that, Chelsea, Becky, Amy, Jessica, and Chloe laid down on the grass as Jessica spoke up.

"It's like there's a lot of planets out there, so far away. Maybe even beyond our own solar system."

As she said that, the group was unaware of a tall, dark green silhouette watching the moonlight with them, his beady eyes staring blissfully at the light before he scampered off. In doing so, she heard footsteps from outside as she looked to where the rustling came from before speaking.

"Huh? What was that?"

With that, Amy spoke up to her, having an idea about what it could be.

"Eh, it was probably a squirrel."

Upon looking at the ground's giant footprint, Jessica had doubts about it as she spoke to herself.

"Hmm... I'm not so sure."

At that moment, Jessica heard her alarm beeping, saying that she had a half-hour to go before she has to go back home. With that amount of time, Jessica had enough time to spend with Chloe and Amy. And yet, the mystery of the huge footprints intrigued her more as she spoke to the group.

"Guys, I'm gonna look around for a bit."

"Okay. Just don't take too long."

As Jessica nodded, she went in the bushes and followed the footprints carefully. As she did, she navigated her way around the forest and found the trail happened to stop short seemingly out of nowhere before she looked around for any sign of who made the prints before she spoke.

"Hey! Is someone out there? If you are... you can come out. I mean you no harm."

Hearing her words, the figure slowly emerged from the bushels and walked towards her, revealing a very tall, dark green figure with a light blue mustache as Jessica widened her eyes at its majesty before the figure did the same for her. For Jessica's case, she always thought it was her imaginary friend from when she was camping out. But seeing him now, Jessica realized that he's been real the whole time.

"Charlie?"

The figure itself seemed to recognize her, too, as he widened his eyes and spoke up as gently as she did.

"Jessica?"

Before the two of them could extend their hands to each other, they heard Chloe's voice speak up from far away.

"Jessica!"

Upon hearing her, Charlie began to hide in the bushes again, leaving Jessica desperately calling to him.

"Charlie, wait!"

At that moment, however, Chloe got down to Jessica as she spoke.

"Jessica! You got to come back up. We're about to say goodbye to the others."

"So soon?"

"Yeah. Apparently, they're as much a believer in curfew as you are. But... who's Charlie?"

As Jessica looked to where Charlie had taken off, she gave a sigh before answering.

"Must be my imagination."

 **A/N: Hello. Sorry I took so long to post another chapter for We Bare Bears. Also, the rights of Adventure Time are reserved for Pendleton and its fellow creators even though it has had a grand finale. May the adventure live on...**


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